Begin Again
by Aria Taylor
Summary: "I fell in love once. He was all a girl could ever want; or so it seemed. He broke my heart and I never thought I'd see love begin again. Until it did."
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So, this story is AU. If you don't like AU stories, well, you allready clicked on it, so might as well read it. You might like this one! **

**The quotes at the beginning of each chapter should always have something to do with the chapter. Whether it's small or big, it always has something to do with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Just this plot and a few OCs.**

Chapter One

Annabeth

_It's funny how the people who hurt you the most are the ones who promised they never would._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Love can be a beautiful thing. It can make you feel like you're at the top of the world, like nothing can knock you down because the person you love is by your side. It can make you feel beautiful and wanted. It makes your life worth living. You're not just another face in the crowd. You mean something to someone.

But love is dangerous. It messes with your mind. It makes you believe you can't live without your loved one. In ancient times, people died for love. Love caused the Trojan War in ancient Greece. Nowadays, lost love breaks a person's heart and ruins their life. I know. It did mine.

I fell in love once. He was all a girl could ever want; or so it seemed. He broke my heart and I never thought I'd see love begin again. Until it did.

OoOoOoOoOoO

I navigate through the busy streets of Manhattan, squeezing between citizens and dodging pedestrians. My book bag hits my right thigh with everystep I take.

"are you sure you're alright by yourself?" my dad asks over the phone. "New York is a busy place. Do you really want to live there?"

I roll my eyes. "Dad, I'll be fine. I'm seventeen years old. I can take care of myself."

"But are you sure you want to live there?" he asks again. I can hear the worry in his voice. It makes me smile.

"There's no high school back in San Francisco that offers a better architecture program than Goode High School in New York does," I point out. "If I do well here, then maybe I can get a scholarship and become a famous architect."

Of course, I don't tell my dad the real reason I moved to Manhattan. I can't even confront it myself. Everytime I think of what happened, my heart is stabbed and a new wave of pain hits me.

My dad chuckles. "If this is what you really want," he answers. "But remember, if things get tough there, you still have a home with us. Don't forget that."

I smile. My relationship with my dad has always been rocky. My mom had abandoned me and my father when I was a baby. He remarried when I was six or seven and they had twin boys a couple of years later. I've always felt like the outsider. Whenever my dad says stuff like that, it makes my insides get warm. I'm still his daughter no matter what.

"Thanks, Dad. Love you," I say.

"Love you too, Annabeth. Have a great first day." The line goes dead and I put my phone back in my bag. It's a beautiful fall day in New York. The pedestrians stand on the sidewalk and offer me two-for-one deals and buy-one-get-one-free exclusives. I just smile and say no thank you. The air is crisp and cool. The wind is strong today, blowing leaves through the streets and tickling my face. I pull my coat closer to my body. Today, I', wearing a loose tan tanktop with a brown leather jacket, dark blue skinny jeans, and plain brown ballet flats. My curly blonde hair is up in a ponytail. I had checked my appearance this morning about five times. I wanted to look decent during my first day at a new school.

I tranferred from San Francisco High School to Goode High over Thanksgiving break. Goode offers an excellent architectural program, whereas the high school I used to go to didn't even have one. At least, that's what I told my dad. What he doesn't know is that I'm not running to something, but away from something.

Or rather someone.

I arrive at Goode High School. It is bustling with students hurrying to get to class. My stomach twists nervously. I brush a strand of hair behind my ear and start walking to the front office. I can feel people's eyes watching me as I walk. It makes me feel self-conscious and I pull my coat tighter around.

I finally make it to the office. A small lady with her brown hair up in a bun is sitting at the front desk, typing up something on her computer. When she looks up at me, her eyes shine and she smiles widely. She has an aura of friendliness surrounding her. I smile back.

"I'm assuming your Annabeth Chase?" she asks. Her voice is clear and gentle, like wind chimes.

"Yes, ma'am," I answer.

"Welcome to Goode," she says. "I'm Tracy. Let me just find your schedule..."

Tracy walks over to a filing cabinet and starts sorting through files. I look around the small office. On the wall are pictures and awards. I've heard that Goode has an incredible swim team, but this is the first time I've ever actually seen it. Trophies with gold plates saying, "Goode High School First Place" are displayed on shelves. Awards for individual team members are on the wall. Mixed in with those awards are pictures. I see pictures of guys diving into water. There's a guy holding up a trophy and a guy wearing two medals. I look at the picture of the whole team. They're all lined up, still in dripping swin trunks. There's a boy in the middle holding up a large trophy, who I assume is the captain. He has raven-colored hair which hangs down in his face. He's smiling widely, which lights up his green eyes.

"Oh, here it is," Tracy says.

I twirl around. "What?"

"Your schedule." She hands a paper to me. "It's got your locker number and combination on it also. I hope you have a great day at Goode."

"Thank you," I say, walking out the door.

When I get inside the hallway, I look at my locker number. Locker 231. I navigate through the bus hallway just as I did in the streets. And, of course, I run into someone.

"I'm sorry," I apologize and look up. The girl I ran into has long black hair and clear blue eyes. Whenever she smiles, she reveals perfect white teeth.

"No biggie," she says nicely. "Hey, aren't you the new girl?"

"Yeah," I answer. I'm all ready known as the new girl? "Annabeth Chase."

"Silena Beauregard," Silena states. She smiles again. "Pretty name. So where's your locker?"

"That's what I'm trying to find," I admit. "This school is so big."

Silena takes my schedule to see my locker number. "Oh!" she exclaims. "You're not far from me!" She grabs my arm and drags me down the hallway until I'm looking at Locker 231.

"Wow," I say. "Thanks, Silena."

"No problem," she says smiling. "So what's your schedule?"

I look down at my paper. It reads:

First Hour: Calculus  
8:30-9:20

Second Hour: World Studies  
9:25-10:15

Third Hour: Chemistry  
10:20-11:10

Fourth Hour: Free Period  
11:15-12:05

Fifth Hour: English Literature  
12:10-1:00

Lunch  
1:00-1:35

Sixth Hour: Architecture  
1:40-2:30

Seventh Hour: Gym  
2:35-3:25

Silena looks over her shoulder. "We have first hour together," she says. "And second, third, and seventh. And, of course, lunch."

I open my locker and throw my coat inside. I follow Silena through the hallway.

We get to class and my hands are sweating, my stomach turning. I've never been to a new school before. I sit down in the back next to Silena and start twistingmy hair, like I do when I get nervous. The bell rings and a young woman gets up in front of the class. She looks to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She has long curly red hair and bright green eyes. When she smiles, she shows a set of perfectly straight, white teeth.

"Good morning," she says loudly, getting everyone's attention. "We have a new student today. Miss Annabeth Chase, would you please stand up?"

I look warily at Silena, who smile encouragingly. I stand up.

"Welcome to twelfth grade Calculus," the teacher says. "I'm Mrs. Thompson. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

I nod and say, "I'm seventeen years old. I transferred here from San Francisco Public Schools. My family still lives back in California. I'm living with my grandma."

"Are you single?" a guy in the back asks. Snickers sweep through the room.

Peyton," Mrs. Thompson says disapprovingly, "be quiet. We don't want to make Annabeth uncomfortable."

I smile and sit down, but it was too late. I was already uncomfortable. I close my eyes.

He had asked me that same question when he first met me. He had said it in a joking way, but when I looked into his eyes I saw that he was serious. Not long after, he promised he would never hurt me.

But it was all a lie.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was the same routine every class. The teacher introduces me, I talk about myself, I sit down. It was a long, painful day, full of flashbacks from my past life.

After fifth hour, Silena led me to the cafeteria. We were standing in line to get food when she decided to interrogate me.

"So," she says, "back at your old school. Did you have a boyfriend?"

I look down at my plate and try to ignore the sharp pain in my heart. "No," I lie.

"You're lying," she states. "You did have a boyfriend! What was his name? Was he cute? Are you still together?"

I force a laugh. "Wow, Silena. Obsessed much?"

"Are you still together? Can I meet him? I need to approve of this guy!"

I take a deep breath. "No. We broke up about eight months ago."

Silena gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. Breaking up is always hard. Unless he was a jerk. Then it's fun."

I laugh, for real this time. "I have to agree with you." We pay for our food and Silena leads me to her and her friends' table. I haven't met her friends yet and I'm kind of nervous. Will they like me? Will they think I'm a complete idiot?

We get to the table and I realize that I had nothing to worry about. They're all smiling at me in a friendly way. There's a girl with frizzy red hair and bright green eyes talking to a beautiful girl with long dark hair and dark eyes. They both give me dazzling smiles and the red-haired girl pats a spot next to her, gesturing for me to sit there. A boy wth dirty blonde hair and grey eyes like mine sits next to the dark-haired girl. He's reading a book and seems to be deeply engrossed in it also. Two guys sit next to him. One is small with curly brown hair and blue eyes that sparkle with mischief. He gives me an impish grin and winks at me. The other boy is big and buff. He has a buzz cut and and dark, yet kind eyes. Everything about him, from his grease-stained t-shirt to the blueprints he's drawing, tells you he's good with mechanics. He smiles at me, but his whole face lights up when he sees Silena next to me. "That's my boyfriend," Silena whispers. I nod, ignoring the jabbing painin my chest.

Silena and I walk to the two spots at the table. I sit next to the redhead and Silena sits next to her boyfriend.

"Hi!" the redhead says. "I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, senior at Goode High School, and the next Leonardo da Vinci!"

"I'm Annabeth Chase," I say just as dramatically, "senior at Goode High School, and an aspiring architect!"

"Really?" Rachel tilts her head to the side and smiles. "An architect? That's so cool! Maybe we could be partners one day! You could design a fabulous building and my artwork will adorn the inside, letting the world know-"

"Ahem," Silena says, interrupting Rachel. "Rach, you should really join the drama club. You'd be amazing."

"My heart belongs to the paint and canvas," Rachel states melodramatically. "Without it, I'd be like a shepherd without his sheep, a dog without his bone, a moon without-"

"Anyway," Silena interrupts again, "this is Reyna." She gestures to the dark-haired girl. "She's quiet at first, but once you get to know her, she opens up more."

Reyna smile at me. "Hi, Annabeth. I like your name."

I return the smile. "Nice to meet you, Reyna. I like your name also."

"This is Malcolm," Silena says, pointing to the boy reading the book. Reyna nudges him and he looks up. I'm surprised by how much he looks like me. We have the same storm-grey eye color and the dark, full lashes that frame them. We have the same tan skin and and build; small and petite, but fast and strong. His eyes analyze me, taking me in and calculating what I'll do next. I do the same thing to people. The only difference between us is our hair. He has dirty blonde, whereas I have golden locks.

"Hi," Malcolm greets me. "Annabeth, right?"

"Yeah," I say, glancing at the book in his hand. "The Hiding Place, huh? You like World War ll?"

I grimace. I meant for the question to be friendly, but it came out as an accusation, like I was accusing him of reading about Hitler's actions and enjoying it. Well, when I blurt stuff out like that, I blame my ADHD.

Malcolm laughs. "Nah. We're reading this is English. 'Taking a break from Shakespeare' as Mrs. Taylor put it."

"Oh," is all I say. He must be in a different class than I am. I just came from English and I didn't have a Mrs. Taylor or heard about reading the Hiding Place. I had Mr. Blofis and we were doing a unit on Greek mythology.

"I'm Leo!" the guy with curly hair exclaims. He twitches and is drumming the table with his fingers, telling me that he's most likely ADHD.

"Annabeth," I introduce myself.

"And this is Charlie," Silena says, nudging her boyfriend. "Or Beckendorf, as everyone else calls him."

I study Beckendorf. There's something different about him. The way he looks at Silena, like she's the most important person in the world and he's terrified of having her slip through his grasp. And the way he keeps a protective arm around her, sending out a silent message that if any guy touches her, he'll be turned into tomorrow's lunch. I take a shaky breath. That's how _he_ used to treat me, before he threw me out with yesterday's garbage.

"Hi," I say, forcing a smile. "I'm Annabeth."

"I got that from all the other introductions," Beckendorf says, grinning. His voice matches his appearance; gruff and strong. I smile. I like this guy already.

"So, Annabeth," Silena starts, "did you have a boyfriend back at your old school?"

I suppress a groan. She still hasn't dropped the conversation from earlier. "I told you before," I tell Silena, looking down at my plate, "I didn't have a boyfriend."

Silena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but it was obvious you were lying. So I want to know what happened between you two."

I don't meet her eye. I came here to forget about him, not to be reminded every second of what happened and what I lost.

I'm saved. When I look up at Silena, I catch someone's eye. A boy across the room is looking at me. He's tall with raven-black hair that brushes his long, dark eyelashes. His eyelashes frame his deep sea-green eyes that are locked on my grey ones. He's surrounded by people: a guy with dark curly hair like Leo's, a younger girl with long dark curls cascading down her shoulders. A guy with a buzz cut and a babyish face is holding her hand. Another guy with blonde-cropped hair and electric blue eyes was holding hands with a beautiful brunette with choppy braids and kaliedoscope eyes. A small girl with red hair and pointy ears was standing close to the boy who looked like Leo. Finally, a punkish looking girl with spiky black hair and the same electric blue eyes as the blonde boy is talking to someone over on the side.

But the boy with green eyes, I think I've seen him before.

"Omigosh!" Silena squealed. "I can't believe it!"

I tear my gaze away from the other kids and to Silena. I blink innocently. "What?"

Silena's smiling so wide, it takes up almost her entire face. "You..him..eye contact..ah!"

Rachel seems to have caught on because she was grinning at me.

What are they smiling about?" I ask Reyna.

Reyna smiles at me. I'm getting really tired of all the smiling. "That's Percy Jackson, captain of the swim team, and, like, the most popular guy at Goode."

That's where I've seen him! In the front office this morning, when I was getting my schedule. "Why are they laughing?" I ask Reyna.

"Rachel used to be a part of his group," Reyna stated. "Have her explain it to you." Then Reyna pulled out a science textbook and laptop and started doing homework.

I turn to Rachel. "Care to explain?" I say.

"I used to be a part of his group," Rachel explains. "Well, I had a crush on him. I tried for what seemed like forever to get him to ask me out, but he never did. He doesn't even look at other girls. Well, until now."

"What do you mean, 'until now.'"

Silena rolled her eyes. "It means he's taken an interest in you!" she explains.

I blush beet red. "Oh."

Silena's about to say something else, but the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. I hurry and grab my things to go to my next class: architecture.

As I'm walking out of the cafeteria, I feel as if someone's watching me. When I turn around to look, a pair of sea-green eyes avert their gaze and look at the floor. I take a shaky breath and walk out of the cafeteria.

**I hope you liked it! If you didn't, I promise it'll get better! I have everything all planned out, and I'm pretty excited about it. **

**Who do you think the "he" is? I think it's pretty obvious, but then again, I am the one writing it...**

**I post verses after most chapters. It's just kind of my thing. Here's one: **

**"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you what the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I have nine reviews, ten favorites, and twenty followers for ONE chapter! That's incredible! You guys are amazing!**

**And I would like to say to all of my new readers: I'm not one of those writers who update, like, every day. I usually take a couple of weeks. With this story, I'm trying not to take as long with each chapter. You know, maybe update every week or so. I have everything planned out and it's going to be amazing!**

**So this chapter doesn't have a lot of Percabeth in it. It's mainly an intro into Percy's life, a little background, and a few other things that are going to be important down the road. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I only own the plot.**

Chapter Two

Percy

_Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Love is magical. It's something that no one can understand. It's a feeling inside us that churns and tells us, "This is love." It's something no one fully gets until they feel it themselves.

But love is as complicated as it is magical. You say that you love someone, but really you're just masking all the hurt and betrayal and putting on an act. And the person you say you love ends up getting hurt. It's an endless cycle that I thought could never be broken.

But I also thought that love was a useless emotion that no one needed. How could I have known that a girl, a girl wearing a mask, the exact kind of girl I spent my life steering clear of, would open me up and completely change my perspective on love forever? How could I have known that a journey I never wanted, an emotion I never wanted, would turn out to be the greatest adventure of my life?

Because you never know when love will hit you. It'll just hit.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I look into my mother's face, which is fearful and tear-stained. Her chocolate brown eyes are wise, but scarred and afraid. She strokes my hair gently, her touch sending shivers down my spine.

"It'll be okay, Percy," she says, fear clear in her voice.

I hear him tumbling through our small apartment, things crashing and breaking as he runs into things. I know that he is drunk.

My hands shake. "Mom..."

"It'll be okay," she says again. "Stay in here. Promise me that you won't leave this room."

"Sally!" his gargled voice demands from the other side of my bedroom door.

"Coming!" she calls. Then she turns back to me. "Promise me."

"I-I promise."

"Good," she says. "I'm holding you to that promise, Percy."

She kisses the top of my head then walks out the door, locking and closing it tightly behind her. I bury myself under the blankets.

But the blankets don't block out the sounds of thumping and my mother's sobs.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

My eyes blink open to sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. I immediately listen for any sound that tells me that my mother was still here. I hear the sound of bacon sizzling, I smell coffee, and I hear my stepdad, Paul Blofis, talking with my mom. I sigh. I've been having these dreams more and more now. It's like the horror of my childhood waited five years to reach me and is just now sinking in.

I sit up and glance at my digital clock on my dresser, checking the time. 7:50! Dang it! I slept late! I jump out of bed and run to start the shower.

Ten minutes later, I'm showered, dressed, and chowing down on my breakfast. My mom watches me with an amused expression on her face. "Sleep late?" she says sympathetically.

I nod.

"I'm leaving in five minutes," Paul says from the couch, where he sits drinking his coffee and reading the paper. "You'd better hurry if you want a ride. You already missed the bus."

I nod again, my mouth full of pancakes.

I watch my mom while she cleans up the kitchen. Her dark curly hair is up in a ponytail. Her eyes shine, but are dark at the same time. I've never been able to figure out her eyes. They hold secrets and memories from the past, which I figure make them look dark. But they also sparkle when she looks at people. Even after seventeen years of seeing those eyes, they still puzzle me.

"You ready to go, Percy?" Paul asks, walking over to put his cup in the sink.

"Yeah," I say, grabbing my backpack off of the chair next to me and walking out the door of our apartment with Paul, ready for a perfectly normal day.

I wish I had known then that my day was going to be far from normal.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I guess it all started that morning when my best friend was hit in the face with a donut.

Now, my friends are a weird bunch. There's Grover Underwood, my best friend, who walks weird and makes a strange noise when he's nervous that sounds a lot like a goat. He has a girlfriend named Juniper, who's pretty in an elfish way. She has green eyes like mine, but her's are more the color of a leaf, whereas mine are just green. She has bright red hair and pointy ears, which other people find strange but I find unique and special. Juniper's one of the kindest girls I've met.

There's Jason Grace, my cousin, and his girlfriend, Piper McLean. Jason and Piper are the perfect couple, in my opinion. Jason, with his golden cropped hair and sky blue eyes, is the school's heartthrob, and Piper is probably the most beautiful girl at Goode. She tries to play down her beauty by not wearing make-up, wearing trashy clothes, and putting her hair in choppy braids everyday. It doesn't work.

And there's Hazel Levesque, a junior, the youngest out of us all. She's quiet and old-fashioned, always wearing knee-length socks with skirts, and wearing white Oxfords, but Hazel rocks the look, as all the girls say. And she adds her own flair to it; pink striped socks, a neon-colored tanktop under a white unbuttoned Oxford, a colorful necklace here and there. With her chocolate-colored hair and hazel eyes that sparkle like jewels, most girls say she's a close second to Piper for Most Beautiful Girl at Goode.

Hazel's boyfriend, Frank Zhang, everyone thinks of as odd. He's Chinese Canadian and could be mistaken for a sumo wrestler if not for one thing. It's like every other part of his body matured except for his face. It still has those babyish features: chubby cheeks, big eyes, full lips. He has animal characteristics too: he's as clumsy as an elephant, but can be as quiet as a mouse. He's also, "as cute as a puppy," as Hazel describes him.

Lastly, there's Thalia and I. Thalia Grace is also my cousin and Jason's sister. She's eighteen, a year older than all of this (or two if you're Hazel), but her birthday's in December, so she started school late. Thalia is one of those people who you look at and think that she escaped from a teenage prison. She wears all black, usually-black lace-up boots, ripped black jeans, tight black shirts, a black leather jacket that I don't think I've ever seen her go a day without. Dressing like a goth is against school dress code, but somehow Thalia gets away with it. I think it's because the principal is too afraid of her to tell her that she can't wear stuff like that. Other people have other theories, that may or may not involve a bazooka and duct tape.

But whether or not you think Thalia's a goth, if you take one look at her eyes, you'll change your mind. They're electric blue and menacing, sending out a silent message that if anyone messes with her or her friends, a lightning bolt will come down from the heavens and zap them. But if you take the time to get to know Thalia, really know her, you'll find that she makes an awesome friend and will stand by your side until the day you die.

And then there's me. Tan, tall, shaggy hair as black as night, plain green eyes, not particularly handsome. I'm dyslexic and ADHD. I'm friends with the principal, which probably isn't a good thing. But I do have a way with water. I'm captain of the swim team and I hold the record for fastest swimmer by a minute. I'd say I'm pretty popular, but who knows.

And I'm loyal. If you decide to become friends with me, it's like you're signing to become friends for life. I'll always stick up for you even if it means making a total fool of myself.

It's during one of these times when I'm sticking up for a friend that I find out something that changed my life forever.

I get out of Paul's car and he goes and parks in the back with all of the other teachers. I immediately see Grover and all my other friends facing Peyton and his gang. How do I describe Peyton? People should stop thinking that Thalia escaped prison and start thinking that Peyton did. Peyton wears saggy jeans and t-shirts advertising different rock bands that I've never heard of and I don't ever want to hear. He has piercings all over his body. With his black hair and menacing brown eyes, he's considered one of the meanest kids at school.

Him and Grover are both in each other's faces, their friends fanning out behind them. Thalia is eyeing Peyton like she might push Grover away and start World War lll. I figured I better intervene before she really does give Peyton a piece of her mind.

"Hey, Grover!" I call, jogging over to him. They're standing on the right side of the entrance, near the flagpole, and people were starting to crowd around, waiting for a fight to start. Some were cheering for Grover and some were cheering for Peyton.

Everyone turns at the sound of my voice. Murmurs of excitement spread through the crowd. Apparently, since everyone knows that I'm loyal, they think I'm gonna stick up for him and start a fight.

"Oh, look!" Peyton cries, mocking relief. "It's Percy Jackson, here to save your sorry butt, Underwood."

"Leave my friend alone, Peyton," I say, "or it's your sorry butt that's gonna need saving."

"Yeah!" Thalia adds, coming over to stand at my side. "You mess with my friend, you mess with me." Her blue eyes glare menacingly at Peyton, but he seems to be immune to their penetrable ability.

He laughs. "Oh, I'm so scared." Peyton leans towards me, and says with frightening calmness, "I could rip you to shreds, Jackson, and you know it. But I'm gonna show you grace. There's a new girl and I don't want it going around that I was in a fight." He turns away from me and back to Grover. He takes a jelly-filled donut from one of his minions-er, sorry, _friends_-and smashes it in Grover's face. The white powder that had coated the donut before billows up in a cloud and finds a new home in Grover's chocolate curls.

"That," Peyton snarls while Grover wipes jelly away from his eyes, "was for calling me a two-faced jerk with no sense of style. And you had the nerve to say that while wearing that." He gestures to Grover's outfit-dark jeans, white Oxford, suspenders-the runs off with his buddies.

Seriously? They were about to start a fight over someone calling someone a name?

"Oh, Grover!" Juniper cries, running over to her boyfriend. Today, she's wearing a pretty green dress with a jean jacket over it, protecting her from the cold fall air. Her red hair is braided and curls over her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I think I've lost all love I ever had for jelly donuts," Grover mutters, wiping the donut off of his face. Juniper giggles and gives Grover a kiss. When she pulls away, she goes, "You taste like donut."

I turn to Piper and Jason, who had been silent through the whole ordeal. "What was Peyton talking about when he said new girl?" I ask. "Was he bluffing his way out of a fight, or was he telling the truth?"

"He was telling the truth," Jason says. "There really is a new girl."

"Her name is Annabeth Chase," Piper tells me. "She transferred here from California."

"She came through here right before Peyton ambushed us," Jason continues. "Long curly blonde hair, tan, really pretty. But whenever she walked through, she seemed guarded."

I nod like nothing's wrong. "Come on. We don't want to be late for class."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Having World Studies for first hour is great, especially if you have Mr. Lee. He gives you a paper with everything you need to know for the test on it. You never have to pay attention, so I always get an extra hour of sleep. Thalia does too. Piper pays attention and nudges us when Mr. Lee looks our way. She's a great friend.

The first three hours of the day were completely normal. Sleeping through first hour, trying to figure out what language the teacher was speaking in Chemistry, not even trying to understand Calculus. It was in fourth hour, free period, when my day strayed from normal.

Thalia, Grover, and I walk over to the school library, having decided to do homework after driving to the nearest Starbucks to get a drink. I always feel more secure with these two. I've known them the longest (plus Jason) and they've seen me at my worst. I know that they won't judge me.

"Ugh," Thalia says as she plops down at a table. "I hate school. We go with no breaks for three months, we get about a week off, then they pile more homework on us. How old do they think we are? Forty?"

Grover and I crack a smile. Thalia always rants about how school is unhealthy for kids, and if we're forced to go, we should at least get paid. I don't really mind school. As a kid, it was a safe haven from my stepdad.

Grover nudges me. "Check it out, Perce," he whispers. "It's the new girl." He points behind Thalia and I follow his finger. At first, I don't see her. I only see Silena Beauregard, another one of the prettiest girls at school, throwing her head back and laughing. But when the librarian gives her a dirty look, I see a pretty girl sitting across from Silena. No, _beautiful._ She looks like a stereotypical California girl, which makes her stand out in New York. She has tan skin and a thin athletic build. She looks like the kind of girl who's strong and fast. Her hair is up in a pontail, a few loose blonde curls falling into her face. But her eyes, her eyes ruin the California image. They're bluish grey, dark and, like Jason said earlier, guarded. I wonder what made them like that.

"Wow," Thalia says, looking over at the girl too. "Piper's gonna have some serious competition for most beautiful girl."

"Annabeth Chase," Grover confirms. "She's gonna be little Miss Popular for about the next week."

And Grover's right.

Annabeth ends up being in my fifth hour English class. She sits in the back and pulls out a laptop, much to my surprise. The school just now started allowing students to use laptops and tablets for work, but not many students have been using them. I didn't expect Annabeth to use a laptop.

"Percy," Paul says from his desk. This is the class he teaches, which I just happen to have this year.

I walk over to him. "Yeah."

He gestures over to Annabeth. "That is the new girl, correct?"

I nod. "Annabeth Chase."

Paul grins at me. "Kinda pretty, don't you think? You should talk to her. You might appeal to her and she to you."

I playfully punch his arm and go sit down next to Juniper and Frank, smirking. Me getting a girlfriend? Yeah, right. After seeing how my old stepdad treated my mother, and having my birth father abandon my mother once I was born, I've seen enough of what love does and I pledged to myself that I would never get myself involved in it.

"So I heard that Hazel and I missed all of the action this morning," Frank says once I sit down.

I think back to the face-off earlier this morning and realize that Hazel nor Frank were there. "Yeah," I answer. "It was pretty intense. I got there just before a fight broke out."

"What caused it?"

"Apparently Grover called him a name or something like that. I don't even remember." I look over at Juniper, who's on the other side of me, and see that she's texting on her phone. "Now, Juniper," I scold playfully, "we don't text in class."

Juniper giggles, presses send, and puts her phone back in her bag. She puts a finger up to her lips, as if to say, _shhh._ I grin.

The bell rings and Paul gets up in front of the class. "Good afternoon," he says. "We have a new student joining us today. I know that many of you have already met her, but some of us haven't. So, Miss Chase, would you please stand up and tell us a bit about yourself?"

Annabeth stands up and smiles at us. "Hi. I'm Annabeth Chase. I'm seventeen years old. I transferred here from San Francisco Public Schools. My family is still back in California, so I live with my grandmother."

The speech sounds rehearsed, like she's said it too many times and it just comes naturally now. She sits back down, but everyone keeps watching her until Paul claps his hands and announces that we're doing a unit on Greek mythology. But while he's talking about gods and monsters, everyone glances at her. I know what they're all thinking. I'm thinking the same thing.

There's something different about Annabeth Chase.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I watch Annabeth all through lunch. She does have a secret; I can tell by the way she tenses up when Silena asks her something while they're waiting in the lunch line.

"You distracted, Perce?" Hazel asks. She follows my gaze to where Annabeth is, sitting with Silena and her friends. "Oh," she says, her lips slightly upturned.

"It's not like that," I say, tearing my gaze away from Annabeth and to Hazel, who's trying not to laugh.

"Sure it's not, Percy," she says. "You haven't touched your lunch, you're staring at the new girl, and now you're denying it. All signs that you're crushing on her." She laughs. "But you say it's not like that. Okay. Whatever you say."

I groan and take a bite of my sandwich. I keep my angry eyes trained on the table, but soon they soften and wander back to Annabeth. This time, her eyes meet mine. They're dark now, swirling with anger and hurt. She studies me, glances over at my friends, but eventually comes back to me. We lock eyes and it feels like a spark ignites between us. Electricity runs through my body.

Silena follows Annabeth's gaze. She sees me and her eyes widen. Annabeth tears her eyes off of me as Silena starts talking to her.

It's been confirmed. There's something strange about Annabeth Chase, some secret that she's hiding. And I'm determined to find out.

**So what did you think? I threw in a little action for you guys, which I wasn't planning on at all. I wrote that while I was tired and I was thinking about donuts, so that was the result. I hope you enjoyed it! And keep in mind that Peyton is an important character in this story...well...somewhat. He has a part in Percy and Annabeth's relationship. And I know that that chapter didn't have much to do with the quote, but if you really think about it, Annabeth was starting to catch Percy's heart. **

**Okay, random story. Have you ever tried to charmspeak? I was watching the Hunger Games (Which I got for Christmas! Yeah!) and the DVD player started making this weird noise, so I went, "Stop," very forcefully and...it didn't. But it was worth a shot. Please tell me that I'm not the only one who has done this. **

**Review! Review! Review! If all of my followers reviewed, I would have twenty reviews per chapter, and that would be incredible. So please decide to be a decent person and review. **

**"O, Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. But you, o Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high." Psalm 3: 1, 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I'm back with a new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan!**

Chapter Three

Annabeth

_People say that love hurts, but love didn't hurt me. You did. _

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I still have his number.

I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. I guess it was that part of me that didn't want to let go of the hope that everything that happened was just a misunderstanding.

Sometimes, I take out my phone and stare at his name on my contacts list. I remember all of the old times, when we laughed at cheesy commercials, smashed ice cream in each other's faces, had tickle wars. And the more intimate times, when we whispered the words, "I love you," in each other's ear, when our hands brushed, and when our lips pressed together. And I let myself cry too. I cry because of the hurt that I felt, that I still feel. I cry because I never thought that he would hurt me like he did.

I also wonder if he regrets what he did. They say that you don't know what you have until it's gone. I wonder if he realized that that was true oonce I left.

"Annabeth?" Reyna pulls me out of my daze. "Are you okay?"

I blink and look at her. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Reyna gives me on last worried look, then turns back to the blueprints. She knows I'm hiding something. So does Silena. I wonder how long I can keep up this front that everything's fine.

I turn back to my blueprints. The teacher, Mrs. Ramsey, had us look at blueprints of famous buildings to see how famous architects do things. Reyna and I were both looking at a blueprint of the Parthenon. Greek and Roman mythology has always interested me, and apparently Reyna likes it too. The Parthenon is our favorite building.

I look down at the Parthenon. I've studied it so many times, and I've always admired the way that the columns support the roof. But today, I'm not paying attention. My mind wanders off on its own. I start thinking about Silena and Beckendorf, and how protective he was of her. And the way that Silena looks at him s so sweet and caring and scared. Everytime Silena looks at Beckendorf, there's fear in her eyes. But it's not a fear of him, I don't think. I think it's a fear of _losing _him.

"Annabeth, are you sure you're alright?" Reyna asks again. "You're kinda staring off into space."

I look at Reyna. Her dark eyes are warm, but cold at the same time, like she's experienced something that hurt her and broke her. Like me.

"I'm fine," I reassure her. "Just a little distracted."

The rest of class is like that. By the time the bell rings, signalling the end of class, I'm sure that Reyna is hiding something and she knows that I'm hiding something also.

I walk to gym class with Reyna and Rachel. Rachel chatters aimlessly about people in her classes. Jasmine and Daniel broke up again. Travis and Connor Stollput a tack on their history teacher's chair. Reyna smiles and laughs at appropiate times. She really is pretty. Her dark hair swishes as she walks. Her eyes, which I first classified as brown, are as dark as night, but sparkle like stars. I've never seen eyes like hers.

And Rachel is pretty too, just in an artistic way. She has hair like a wildfire, bright red and impossible to tame. Her green eyes are bright. She gestures with her hands while she talks. Her eyes take in everything around her. I can easily tell that she's a true artist.

Too late, do I realize that both of them are looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I ask.

"How do you like Goode High so far?" Reyna asks, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Is it 'Goode'?" Rachel asks, then laughs at her own joke.

I smile. "It's great." I look around the hallway. People are grabbing books from lockers and some are dumping books. Girls stand around in clusters, whispering to each other. Guys tackle each other from behind as they head to class. "There's a lot less people than my old school."

"Oh no," Rachel says. She's looking down the hallway at something. "Watch out. Here come the queen bees."

"Annabelle Chase," a girl's voice sounds. The people in the hallway clear a path for three girls. Immediately, my head tells me, run. The three girls are obviously popular. Guys watch them with wide eyes as they walk past them. Girls stare longingly, wanting to be friends with them. All three girls wear short pencil skirts, silk blouses, and blazers. The girl in he center of the trio is beautiful. She could be Silena's sister. She has dark hair just like Silena's, but her eyes are kaleidoscopeinstead of blue. The girl to her righthas red hair with blonde highlights. Freckles poke through the pounds of make-up on her face. The last girl looks like a Barbie. Her blonde hair is as straight as a board. She's so skinny, it can't be healthy. And she's wearing so much make-up, I haven't the slightest idea what she actually looks like underneath.

"It's Annabeth," I mutter, not wanting to get involved with these girls. Not today, at least.

"Whatever," the girl in the center says.

"What do you want, Drew?" Rachel demands, her voice sharp.

"Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself to the new girl," Drew says innocently. She smiles at me, and in my head, i picture canine teeth with blood dripping from them. "I'm Drew, and these are my friends, Brooklyn and Jasmine."

"Pleased to meet you," I say to them. "I'm Annabeth Chase."

Reyna tugs on my arm. "Come on, Annabeth," she whispers to me. "We need to-"

"So I heard that you moved here from San Francisco, California," Drew interrupts, taking my arm and pulling me away from Rachel and Reyna. "Did things not work out well at home?"

Again, my heart is ripped out of my chest. I feel my face turning hot as I remember him. His arms wrapped around me, his twinkling eyes, his fingers entwined with mine.

"Speaking of things that didn't work out," the blonde girl, Jasmine, says, "did you get dressed in the dark or something?"

I'm trapped. They brought me out here in front of everyone o embarrass me.

I've dealt with girls like this before. They would taunt me day after day in California, constantly bringing me down. I never paid attention to them. Why should I now? But what do I say to them? They've got me trapped. I can't say something rude and start a fight. There would be too many witnesses. And I can't walk off like a coward.

So what do I do?

I ock innocence. I look down at my clothes, saying, "What's wrong with my outfit?"

Brooklyn chuckled. "Brown is so out right now," she says in a tone she would use with a confused kindergarten.

"Then why are you wearing brown?"

Brooklyn glances down at her chocolate brown pencil skirt. Her face turns tomato red as she realizes what she's done, but she manages to keep her cool.

Drew speaks up for her friend. "Hon, you have to understand. Brown shirts and jackets are out. Skirts are acceptable."

I shrug. "I don't see the point in that."

"Drew," a boy says from down the hall. "Leave her alone."

Everyone's heads turn. People start backing away to make a clear path for the boy as they did for Drew and her friends. Once I see the person who saved me, I roll my eyes.

"Percy!" Drew exclaims, her voice an octave higher than usual. She probably meant for it to sound flirtatious, but it didn't. "How are you?"

"Leave Annabeth alone, Drew," Percy snaps at her.

"Geez," Drew mutters. "I was just talking to her. You know, introducing her to myself, Jasmine, and Brooklyn."

"Just go away," Rachel says, glaring at all three. "Nobody wants to see your make-up coated faces."

Jasmine and Brooklyn glare back at Rachel, but Drew turns her attention to Percy. "So," she says flirtatiously, "do you know who you're taking to the Winter Ball, Percy?"

"Not you," he replies flatly. I smile when I see Drew's hopeful face fall back into a snobby expression.

"Well," she snaps, putting on a fake smile, "Brooklyn, Jasmine, and I should be going. We don't want to be late for class." The three all take turns smiling flirtatiously before they take off down the hallway towards their class, their heels clicking and their hair swishing.

"Ugh," Rachel mutters. "They're so fake, I could sell them off as lifesize Barbies."

I laugh and Percy does too. Reyna shoots me a knowing smile, making my cheeks turn bright red.

"Come on, Rachel," she orders like they're in a hurry. "We're gonna be late."

Rachel smiles at me and says, "Bye, Annabeth!" as she runs down the hall after Reyna. They hallways had cleared after Drew and her friends had left, so only Percy and me are here. My heart pounds and my stomach flips. My hands are shaking. Being alone with a boy is making me nervous, even if it isn't _him. _

"So you're Percy?" I say slowly, trying to make conversation.

Percy grins. "Yup. Percy Jackson. And your name is Annabeth Chase, right?"

I smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I do that when I'm nervous. "Yeah."

"So what's you next class?" Percy asks, gazing at me curiously. I feel my cheeks reddening. I hate being the center of attention.

"Uh, gym," I say, my voice coming out in a small squeak. I don't know why I'm so nervous. Percy's just another guy.

"Cool," he says. "I have that too." He leans towards me and whispers, "Just to warn you, Coach Hedge is very _hardcore_. Be careful, or he'll beat you with his foam baseball bat."

I laugh and begin to relax. "I'll be careful."

Percy grins and pulls away. We begin to walk towards the locker rooms. I'm glad I have Percy with me, or else I'd be completely lost.

It's a long way to the locker room; on the other side of the school according to Percy. But I don't mind. Percy's fun to listen to. He talks to me about the school and tells me funny stories about him and his friends. I find out that Mr. Blofis, my English teacher, is his stepfather and that we're in the same English class and we have free period together.

As we walkn, I notice that the halls are nearly empty. "Won't we get into trouble for being late?" I ask.

Percy shakes his head. "Nah. Not from Coach. He usually just gives you a lecture, then forgets all about it. We won't get into trouble. I think."

"That's reassuring."

Percy laughs. "Yeah." It's silent for a few minutes. Our footsteps echo through the school. "So why's you come to New York?" he asks.

"The architecture program you have here," I answer immediately. By the way Percy looks at me curiously, I can tell that I answered too fast.

"Really?" he says. "You like architecture?"

I nod, relieved that he didn't press into the matter, like Silena. "Yeah." He listens while I ramble on about architecture, even though I can tell he's not interested. I talk until we reach two doors-one labeled "Boys" and the other "Girls".

"Here we are," Percy announces. "The gym is across the hall, and by the sounds of it, everyone is still changing."

He's right. I hear giggling and talking coming from the girls' locker room. "Well," I say slowly, "thanks for walking with me. And, you know, standing up for me."

Percy grins. "No problem. " He waves and walks into the boys' locker room.

It's funny how someone you've never met before can get you talking like you've been best friends since kindergarten. It can be dangerous too.

I just hope he doesn't get me talking about my past.

**Sorry about the length. I felt like ending it there. The next chapter should be longer.**

**So how did you like it? Annabeth finally met Percy What's going to happen? Are they going to hate each other? Are they going to fall in love? Is Annabeth going to tell Percy about her past? Ha. I love how I'm questioning my own plotline. **

**So if you review, I'll eat a cookie for you. This is your chance to get me fat! Review! If everyone who follows this story reviewed, than I'd have to eat thiry some cookies. My goal is to get forty reviews for this chapter or the next one. So PLEASE review!**

**"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." 1 Corinthians 13:4**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Hey hey! I'm back! **

**Hope you enjoy! This is just a filler chapter basically, so sorry if you don't like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Chapter Four

Percy

_When I first met you, I never would have imagined that I would have such strong feelings for you. I never would have thought that I would have dreams about you or miss being by your side or get butterflies in my stomach when someone mentions your name. When I first met you, I never would have thought that I would love you. _

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Eventually, everyone finds that one person that they can tell everything to. Some people call it an accountability partner. Others call it a best friend.

I don't know what I call it. All I know is that Annabeth Chase is that person.

I don't know why I can talk so easily to her. It come naturally. I find myself telling her stories about Thalia of Grover bickering, Piper and Jason's terrible flirting, Frank barrelling into something (as he does on a daily basis), and Hazel cheering us all up when we're down. She laughs at appropriate times and comments. The entire time we're walking, I ask myself I'm opening up so much to this girl. With strangers, I only make polite small talk, as I was taught. It's like Annabeth has a magnetic force that's surrounding her that's pulling the stories out of me.

"Won't we get into trouble for being late?" she asks me. I had just finished telling her about the time Piper dared Jason and I to try on a wedding dress at the mall.

I look around the empty hallway, then down at my watch, realizing, indeed, that we are going to be late. One minute to the bell. "Nah," I answer. "Not from Coach. He usually just gives you a lecture, then forgets all about it. We won't get into trouble." I remember when the Stolls had to do twenty laps around the gym in socks for being late, and I add, "I think."

Annabeth snorts. "That's reassuring."

I laugh and agree with her. We walk in silence for a few minutes. It's a comfortable silence, a silence between best friends. I decide to break it, though, and ask, "So why'd you come to New York?"

Immediately, she answers, "The architecture program you have here."

She answered too fast. It's a rehearsed answer too. I can tell. Again, I begin to wonder what she's hiding. I contemplate asking her. But from the way she's tensed up, and how her eyes are wide, pleading with me, I can tell she wants me to drop it. So I do.

"Really?" I say, changing the subject. "You like architecture?"

Annabeth relaxes and nods. She begins to ramble about it, and I listen, although I have no idea what she's talking about. I just like how her mood changes and she lets her guard down. I like how it's me who's made her happy.

We arrive at the locker rooms. I can hear the giggles and the hushed whispers of the girls as they change and the deep voices of the boys as they get ready.

"Here we are," I say. "The gym is across the hall, and by the sounds of it, everyone is still changing."

"Well, thanks for walking with me," Annabeth says. Her voice softens. "And, you know, standing up for me."

I smile at her embarrassment. "No problem." I wave and walk into the guys' locker room, her gaze following me.

I walk towards my locker, trying to figure out how a girl who I've known for a few minutes can get me talking like we're best friends.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I walk into the gym and immediately groan.

Everyone is standing around talking. We're allowed to bring our own clothes for gym, so all of the guys are in Under Armour shirts and wearing Nike Elite socks and Jordans. The girls are decked out in multicolored Nike shorts and t-shirts advertising different singers and bands. Annabeth is standing off to the side with Reyna and Rachel. All three are in Nike shorts: Reyna, purple, Rachel, red, and Annabeth, black. I notice all of the guys are sneaking glances at Annabeth. I don't blame them.

But that's not what makes me groan. It's what's on the gym floor. In the center of the gym, in a perfectly straight line, are rubber balls.

Dodgeball.

I hae dodgeball. There's something about hitting people with balls and being hit by balls that not's very appealing to me.

Annabeth walks over to me. "Hey," she says, smiling.

I smile back. "Hey."

"So is this normal?" she asks, gesturing to the rubber balls. "Or is this an exception?"

I shrug. "Usually, we run laps or do push-ups to the death." I glance at the balls in the middle. "I'd rather do push-ups."

Annabeth laughs. "Oh, it won't be so bad. I'm sure you're good at throwing balls."

I shrug again. "I don't know."

Annabeth smiles. I find myself smiling with her.

"Alright, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge says into his megaphone. "Gather 'round!"

I glance at Annabeth. "Time for an hour of pure torture."

Annabeth laughs again. ""Oh, come on. It can't be that bad."

"Or it can," I mutter. I follow Annabeth towards Coach.

"Today, we're playing dodgeball," Coach announces. "LaRue, Nakamura, captains."

Clarisse LaRue and Ethan Nakamura walk out in front of everyone. Ethan looks pretty pathetic next to Clarisse. He's a short, wimpy kid with shaggy black hair and sad blue eyes. He's pretty tough, but nothing like Clarisse. Clarisse has long, stringy brown hair and dark, demonic eyes. I swear, she has not one ounce of fat on her body. She's completely muscle. She's a bit intimidating, especially next to Ethan.

The two captains begin choosing their teams. Clarisse chooses her friends, who also happen to be ruthless and pure muscle. Ethan chooses me, the Stolls, Rachel, Reyna, and a few others. The last person left is Annabeth.

"Come on, blondie," Clarisse demands. "I guess you're mine."

Annabeth walks over to Clarisse's team-a bunch of muscular, mean kids who were grinning evilly at out team, like they couldn't wait to beat us to pulp. She seemed out of place with them.

Coach Hedge blows his whistle. "Let's get started!"  
OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was a pretty even game.

Our team got out quickly. The Stolls were the first to go, along with a few girls who aren't very atheletic. Travis seemed pretty miffed about it, but Connor flirted with the girls on the sidelines. Now, it's just Ethan, Rachel, Reyna, and me left against about ten body builders.

Ethan throws a ball. It narrowly misses a guy named Bruno. "Nice try!" I tell Ethan, dodging a ball.

"Thanks!" Ethan calls back.

I pick up a ball and throw it at Bruno. He dodges it narrowly, the ball whizzing past his ear. I get an idea. "Ethan!" I call. "Throw the ball the same time as me!"

Ethan nods and gets his ball ready. "One...," I say, "two...three!"

Ethan and I throow our balls at Bruno at the same time.

I was right. Clarisse's team lacks one thing: agility.

Bruno gets hit right in the stomach. He doubles over, clutching his stomach, and tumbles to the ground. I high-five Ethan.

Reyna and Rachel have teamed up against Annabeth. They're both holding balls and grinning evilly at her. Annabeth stands in front of them, her feet spread slightly apart, ready to dodge at any second. I let them stay there, figuring Ethan and I can get the rest out. Then we could all team up on Annabeth.

Ethan and I did pretty good. We easily got out most of the opposing team. And with Reyna and Rachel distracting Annabeth, we narrow it down to the four of us against Clarisse, Annabeth, and a guy named Butch.

"Percy," Ethan says, nodding his head towards Butch. I nod in understanding. We slowly move towards him, balls at hand. What we don't realize, is that Clarisse is left unguarded. She moves towards us and throws a ball at Ethan with all of her might. He throws his at her just as he's hit. The both fall to the ground.

"Dang it," Ethan mutters.

In all of the commotion, Butch's attention leaves me and turns to Clarisse and Ethan. I take advantage of this and throw my ball at him, getting him out. Now, it's three against one.

I run over to Reyna and Rachel. "Hey," I say nonchalantly.

I've had a rocky past with Rachel. We used to be good friends. Then she began to hit on me and when I rejected her, she left our group of friends and became best friends with Silena and Reyna. We still talk, but not like we used to.

Reyna's pretty cool too. When she first came to Goode, everyone thought that we would make a cute couple. But neither of us were interested, so people stopped their matchmaking after a while. Reyna and I talk a little bit, but not much.

Rachel glances over at the sidelines, where Clarisse is giving me a death glare. "Nice," she says, flashing me a grin.

I pick up a ball. "I really want to stop playing now," I say to the girls. They shir their balls in their hands and smile at Annabeth, who smiles back. "On three," I say. "One...two...three!"

Three balls come barrelling towards Annabeth. She dives to the right, catching one. Reyna huffs and walks off towards the sidelines, muttering about how she should've aimed lower. Meanwhile, Annabeth takes the ball she caught and chucks it at Rachel. It hits her in the gut and she falls on her butt.

Now, it's just Annabeth against me.

"Not very good at dodgeball, huh?" Annabeth taunts.

"Right back at you," I tease, picking up a ball. Annabeth picks one up too.

I hear my team cheering for me from the sidelines. Annabeth's cheer for her also.

"So how long do you think we're gonna be standing here?" I ask.

Annabeth shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe the rest of the hour?"

"Hope not."

We stand there, pacing and eyeing each other, for the next twenty minutes. I don't take my eyes off of her and she doesn't take her eyes off of me.

"Ten minutes," Coach Hedge calls. "Hurry up, cupcakes!"

I spread out my arms. "Throw one at me."

Annabeth smirks.

We stare at each other for the next five minutes. I begin to think that we'll keep going until the end of the hour. But then Ethan screams, "Percy!"

Everything happens really fast. I turn to look at Ethan. Annabeth throws the ball at me. I turn just in time to catch it as I fall backwards.

Annabeth groans. My team comes out to congratulate me. I turn to Ethan. "What was that about" I ask.

Ethan shrugs. "I just got tired of standing around waiting for you or the new girl to throw a ball, so I figured I'd cause a distraction so that someone could win."

"Well, it worked," I conclude. Ethan walks away, and I make my way to Rachel, Annabeth, and Reyna. Rachel and Reyna are taunting Annabeth about losing and Annabeth is looking quite pained.

"Hey," I tell her. "Good game."

"Thanks." Annabeth smiles at me. Her friends shoot her pointed looks and I roll my eyes. When will they realize that I'm not interested in dating anybody?

"So, Percy-" Reyna starts, but she's cut off by the bell.

"I've gotta go, guys," Annabeth tells her friends. She turns to me. "Bye, Percy. It was nice meeting you."

I smile. "You too. See you tomorrow."

**Oooo! Do you guys think Percy has feelings for Annabeth? Does Annabeth have feelings for Percy? What's going to happen? :)**

**So, just so you all know, I'm changing my pen name to Aria Taylor. It sounds a lot more sophisticated than crazylove27. And it sounds cool. So yeah. I'm changing it. **

**"Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God." Matthew 3:8 NLT**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter for you amazing people!**

**Before you read, I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you amazing people. I have 67 followers! Already! And 41 favorites! That's just...wow. Thank you SO much! And keep reviewing! If every person who folloed this story reviewed, I'd already have 100 reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. I'm just toying around with it for a bit. **

Chapter Five

Annabeth's POV

_Now I'll go sit on the floor, wearing your clothes. All that I know is I don't know how to be something you miss. I never thought we'd have a last kiss. _

_-Last Kiss, Taylor Swift_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Blinding white snow consumes the landscape. I twirl around, my eyes searching for him through the furiously falling snowflakes. The ball of snow bites into my hand.

_I wish I brought gloves_, I think bitterly. _I should've known he would want to have a snowball fight on the way home. _

I look around at all of the falling white specks and remember the wondrous feeling that grew inside of me and every other student when we first saw the falling crystals outside during school. We live in San Francisco and rarely ever get snow. When it does snow, everyone seems to turn into a little kid, running around, screaming and laughing. Just like my boyfriend.

I feel something wet, cold, and icy hit my back. I gasp and whirl around, throwing my snowball at the person who hit me. It whizzes right past him.

"Missed me!" he calls out in a taunting voice.

I roll my eyes, muttering, "What a loser."

He comes running towards me. I bend down and scoop up some snow, packing it together to form a ball. I stand up and hurl it at my boyfriend. It hits him right in the torso. He mimicks being shot and falls down dramatically.

I decide to play along. "Oh no!" I call out. "What have I done?" I run to his side and grasp his hand. "Stay with me. Stay with me."

He gazes at me. "Are you there, Annabeth? Everything is all fuzzy."

"I'm here," I reassure him, fighting to suppress a smile.

"Good." He perks up and looks at me, his face serious. "Because I want to tell you something."

I brush back his golden hair as I say, "Yes?"

He grins at me. "I love you."

I laugh. He acts like this is the first time he told me he loves me. It's not. It must be at least the fiftieth. But I answer back anyways, "I love you too."

"I would love you even more if you helped me up."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, Old Man."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The smallest things bring back the biggest memories. Like that dodgeball game in the gym. Even though it seemed like a small thing, it sent a torrent of memories down on me, pushing against me like rushing water in rapidly moving river. It made me want to break down and cry for everything that I've lost.

But I held in my emotions. I still do, even now, walking home. I distract myself with admiring the scenery around me. The warm sun melts away the cold snow from the memory. The running, laughing children steal away the snowballs. The chirping birds carry away the memory fully.

I sigh. Will I ever get over him? Right now, it doesn't seem like it. Everything reminds me of him.

I wonder if every girl goes through this. You hear about heartbreak all the time. At my old school, it seemed like there was a new break-up story everyday. I can't be the only one hurting like this.

But it sure does feel like it. Everywhere I turn, there's a smiling person. I know that most of them are just covering up pain, but seeing so many smiles makes me hurt even more.

Why do we try to cover up what we feel? Why is it that we act like everything's fine, when, in reality, our whole life is falling down around us? Soon, we'll get hit with a falling remainder of our life and we won't be able to hide anymore.

I have a feeling that it might happen to me soon.

My phone vibrates in my coat pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. I pull it out to see who it is. On the screen, is a picture of my old best friend, winking and giving a thumbs-up at the camera. Up abover the photo is a name: _Calypso_.

Calypso hasn't called me in seven months. I haven't spoken to her in eight. After the Incident, I never spoke to any of my old friends. They all seemed to be in on the situation and not one of them had bothered to tell me.

I press decline. I will not speak to her. I don't know if I'd be able to. I might burst into tears at the sound of her voice. I might start screaming at her. I snort at the image. That'd be a great first impression on New York.

I put my phone back on my pocket and take a deep breath. I'm thinking about the whole situation too much. I need to forget about it and move on. That's what I came here to do anyway. Move on.

I'm so lost in my thoughts, that I almost pass by my mom's apartment building. I walk inside and enter the elevator, ready to relax with my mom.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I haven't seen my mom since I was seven, when she surprised my dad and I in California. We spent the weekend shopping, hanging out at the beach, and basically just spending quality time together. Ever since then, we've called, skyped, and texted. I tell her everything and she tells me everything. My mom was the first person I told about _him _and what he did to me. We sat and sobbed over my laptop.

When I moved here, it was like coming home. I felt like I belonged. Growing up with my dad and his family, I always felt like the outsider. I'm too much like my mother to really belong there. So coming to New York, and living with the one person who has understood me all these years makes me feel so relieved and happy.

"Hey, Mom," I call as I walk into our little apartment. "I'm home."

The apartment is so much different that my house back in California. At my dad's, stuff is everywhere: Legos, books, action figures, clothes. My little stepbrothers, Bobby and Matthew, are so sweet and cute, but so messy. They were the main cause of the mess.

Here, in New York, the apartment still is messy, just in a different way. Instead of toys, papers and books litter the floor. My mother is a college professor and she always has papers with notes spread out around the apartment. And my things are out too. My books are mixed in with hers. Blueprints are laid out on the coffee table. It's amazing how messy two brainiacs can make an apartment over one weekend.

"Hello, Annabeth," my mom says. She's sitting on the couch with a notebook and a laptop. Her long, dark hair is up in a messy bun, and she's wearing her usual attire for when she's home: sweats, Uggs, and a two-sizes-too-big sweatshirt. "How was school?"

I shrug. "Okay."

"Did you make any new friends?" she asks. her eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

I sit down on the couch next to her. "A few. They all seem really nice."

"Who are they?"

I glance at her. There's something about her tone of voice. It's cautious, like she's making sure that it's not someone in particular. "Um," I say, "Silena Beauregard, Rachel Dare, Reyna, Leo Valdez..." I rattle off the names of the people sitting at the lunch table today. I don't mention Percy. I don't know why.

My mom relaxes a bit. "That's nice." She goes back to her work. I watch her for a few seconds, waiting to see if there's anything else she wants to talk about. It doesn't seem like there is, so I get up and head to the kitchen. I scan the fridge, searching for something to eat. I pull out a carton of chocolate ice cream and a spoon and sit down at the island, eating the ice cream straight out of the carton.

I look around the apartment as I eat. It's small-probably meant for one or two people. The front door opens up into a small family room with a couch, coffee table, and TV. To the left of the family room is a hallway leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom. To the right of the family room, is a bar that faces the kitchen. And to the left of the kitchen, by the window, is a small table for when we have guests over. It's small, but cozy, and I like it. I consider it more of a home than my house back in California.

I remember back to when my parents split up. I was only two, but I have an exceptional memory. I remember hearing them fighting and not knowing why. I remember waking up one day and my mom being gone.

Suddenly, I realize something.

"Mom," I venture carefully, "was it hard on you when you and Dad split up? Was it hard getting over him?"

My mom stops writing. She pauses, then looks up at me, her grey eyes looking curiously into mine. "What's wrong, Annabeth?" she asks.

I don't answer. "I asked you a question," I say instead.

My mom chuckles, then comes into the kitchen and sits down on the other side of the island. She clasps her hands together and stares down at them as she answers, "Yes."

"How did you deal with it?" I ask.

She laughs, but it's a sad, painful laugh. "I didn't," she says. "I cried night after night. Your father was my one and only love. And to even imagine not having him ever again-well, it hurt." She glances at me. "Is this about-"

"Don't say his name," I interrupt, glaring bitterly down at my ice cream. "But, yes. This is about him."

My mom looks sadly at me. "Annabeth, I know exactly how you're feeling. It hurts to be betrayed by the one person why you trusted most. But I have news for you: it goes away. It may seem like an eternity before it does, but I promise you that it will. Soon, someone else will come along and fall irrevocably in love with you. And you know what?" She smiles at me, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What?" I ask.

She lowers her voice. "You'll break his heart this time."

"Great," I say sarcastically. "Can't wait."

My mom laughs. "Just wait and see, Annabeth. You'll get over him."

I seems childish, but I say, "Promise?"

"I promise. I love you, Annabeth."

"I love you too, Mom."

"I'd love you even more if you did your homework."

I grin. "Of course."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Bzzz._

I groan and roll over, ignoring the vibrating noise.

_Bzzz._

I blink my eyes open. I look around at my surroundings: a queen-sized bed, an open calculus book, a stack of other books. I rub my eyes. I must've fallen asleep while doing homework.

My phone buzzes again. I pick it up and look at the caller ID. My stomach flips as I see a picture of a beautiful, winking girl. Again, my old best friend is trying to call me.

Why is she suddenly calling me? I thought I had made it pretty clear that I didn't want to talk to her a while ago. Why, all of a sudden, does she want to be best friends again?

I press decline angrily. Why is it that when I try to move on, the world decides to remind me that I need to be reminded _every_ second of _every_ day what happpened?

"Annabeth?" my mom asks as she pokes her head through the doorway. "I'm getting take-out for din-" She sees me glaring at my phone and asks, "Is everything alright?"

I nod quickly. "Yeah. I'm fine."

I'm fine. Probably one of the biggest lies in the world.

My mom looks at me for a few moments, worry written all over her face. She knows that there's something wrong. She knows that I'm lying. She's an expert at reading people. But I'm also and expert, and I know that all she wants is for me to trust her and tell her what's wrong.

Finally, she smiles. "Okay. I'm getting take-out for dinner. What would you like?"

"A pepperoni pizza from that parlor downtown," I answer immediately.

My mom playfully groans. "Does it have to be that one?" Then she grins. "Be back soon." Then she walks out.

I wait until I hear her close the door. I made her go to that place on purpose. I need time to myself right now.

I shut my math book, putting it off to the side. Then I crawl off my bed and start digging around underneath it, coming out with a suitcase that I have yet to unpack.

It opens with a _zip_ and I start going through its contents. It holds all of the things that remind me of him, Calypso, and all of my other friends back in San Francisco. On top is a blouse that matches Calypso's. We both got it while at the mall on her birthday. Next to that is a pair of jeans that we both wore. I smile, remembering how we got it. There was only one pair left in our size, and we both wanted it. So we decided to split the cost and share the jeans. Every week, we would switch off. Even after we grew out of them, we still kept switching.

Under that is a charm bracelet that he got me for my sixteenth birthday. I take a deep breath and toss the bracelet aside. I don't want to think about that memory right now.

Next, is a pack of pictures. I flip through them. There's a picture of me and Calypso, making silly faces at the camera. Next, there's a photo of my friend Gwen and I standing together in our soccer uniforms, drenched in sweat. There's another one of my group of friends, all dressed up for homecoming. Lastly, there's one of him and I, our noses and foreheads touching, our eyes locked. I quickly put that one away and look at the last item in the suitcase.

It's an orange hoodie.

I stifle a sob. My lips pressed together, I take it out of the suitcase and slowly put it on.

This is _his _hoodie. I stole it from him the first night he told me he loved me. I don't know why I kept it. It's just another one of those things I keep, in hope that he'll come back and everything will go back to the way it was, even though I know it won't. Some things just can't be fixed.

Finally, I lose it. I curl up in a ball in the middle of my bedroom and begin to sob loud, gut-wrenching sobs that the people downstairs can probably hear. Wrapped up in something that was his makes me lose all self-control that I had left.

I feel empty, yet I feel full. Everything that I loved was taken from me. I don't know how someone who seemed so sweet, so caring, can do something as horrible as he did to me, and walk away, knowing the effect it had on me and not caring one bit. It tears my heart apart. I'm left with nothing.

I let out another heart-twisting sob.

But I'm still so full. I'm full of hurt, anger, and remorse. How could he do this to me? How could my closest friends do this to me? I pretend that every tear that falls is a close friend from back home, a friend who knew what was happening and did nothing. I swipe at the tears angrily, imagining that I'm swiping them out of my life. But just as the tears keep coming back, my friends keep coming back to my mind.

Another sob escapes my mouth.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to love again. I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust again. I've seen countless movies and read countless books about a girl who's been hurt and she doesn't think that she'll be able to love again, but in the end, she does. I always stereotyped those movies and books as stories for the dreamers of the world. But now, being hurt and betrayed, I finally understand those stories. I finally understand why they sit and feel sorry for themselves, why they don't trust. It does hurt. But this is reality, and I don't believe that someone else is going to come along and steal my heart. When you put your trust in someone and you love them as much as I did, you can't fully recover.

Again, I let out another sob.

It's all his fault. If he hadn't done what he did, I wouldn't be here right now. I wouldn't be hurt beyond repair. I wouldn't be trying to start all over in an unfamiliar place. I wouldn't be left with nothing but painful memories circling my brain everyday.

So until my mom gets back, I let myself cry. I let myself sob over everything that I've lost, everything that was taken from me. My lifestyle, my way of living was stolen from me. Now I have to start all over in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. And it's all his fault.

**So what'd you think? I'm sorry it's not very long. I just felt like it should end right there. **

**So how'd you like Annabeth playing the blame game at the end right there? I've never had a boyfriend, so I have no idea what it feels like after a break-up, so this is just how I imagine it. So sorry if it's not accurate. I just know that if it were me who'd endured what Annabeth has, I'd be blaming it on the guy too. *grins evilly* **

**I'm thinking of posting a new Percy Jackson story. I got the idea while listening to "Storm Warning" by Hunter Hayes. It'd be AU again. I was going to use the idea for an original story, but I felt like it would be better if it was Percabeth, not a random couple that I made up. So if I do end up posting it, please review it!**

**Speaking of reviewing, REVIEW! Pretty please, with Percy and Leo on top? Keep in mind, that if you're following this story and you don't review, you'd be missing out on the chance to encourage one of the greatest future writer in the universe.**

**Haha. I'm so dramatic.**

**"The Lord is my light and salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid? For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:1,5**

**P.S. I love those verses! So comforting! You guys should write them down or something!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm back with a new chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. **

Chapter Six

Percy's POV

_The most precious love occurs without choice and when you least expect it._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Brrring! Brrring!_

I lift my head off of my desk and open my eyes. Students are getting up, their chairs scratching the floor. I look at my open calculus book, which I had been resting my head on, and notice that there's a litte bit of drool on it. I quickly wipe it off, my cheeks red, hoping that no one saw me.

I get up and walk down the hall, now feeling fully rested. At least calculus is good for one thing: naps.

It's Friday, and, after surviving the first week back from Thanksgiving break, most people are more than ready for the weekend. I hear most of their plans as I walk towards my locker. Jeremy Stone's throwing a party at his house on Sunday. The volleyball team is going to the New Jersey beach to celebrate their successful season. The mathletes have a competition and the basketball team begins on Saturday.

I get to my locker and begin doing my combination. I hear laughing and look to my left to see Silena, Rachel, Reyna, and Annabeth crowded around Annabeth's locker. Reyna says something and all four girls start laughing. My vision tunnels on Annabeth. When she smiles, her teeth shine and her eyes light up. She wears her curls down today, and when she laughs, they bounce.

"Hey, Fish Face," Thalia says, slamming her hand on the locker next to mine, and blocking my view of Annabeth.

I blink. "Hey, Thals."

Thalia glances behind her to where Annabeth is, and grins at me. "You got a thing for Miss Chase over there?" she teases.

I blush. "Shut up."

"Aw, come on, Perce," Thalia continues. "You can trust me. It's okay if you have a little cr-"

"Where's Grover?" I ask quickly, wanting to change the subject.

"Goat oy's at his car waiting for us.

"Waiting for us?"

Thalia hit the back of my head. "It's free period, moron! Starbucks? Or were you too caught up in Annabeth to notice?"

I glare at her. "Go to the car, Thalia. I'll meet you there."

Thalia threw her hands up in mock innocence. "Whatever you say, cuz. See ya in a few." She runs off. I glare at the back of her head until she's out of sight. Thalia's a great friend and cousin, but sometimes, she can be a real pain in the rear.

I put away my calculus book and grab my phone and wallet. I hear Annabeth say bye to her friends, and an idea forms in my head. From what I heard in their conversation, Reyna and Rachel have to go to class, and Silena has to go help a teacher as a student aid. Which means that Annabeth doesn't have anyone to hang out with for this hour.

I slowly walk over towards her. Should I do this? She might fond it weird and awkward. I mean, I barely know Annabeth. We've talked a little bit since her first day, but not enough to be good friends. And what if she says no?

Yet, with all these worries swimming around in my head, I still find myself saying, "Hey, Annabeth."

Annabeth looks up from where she was putting up her thick Chemistry book in her locker. I glance inside to find it all neatly organized; not one thing is out of place. I suppress a grin.

"Hey, Percy," Annabeth replies, smiling at me. She tucks a curl behind her ear and looks at me expectantly, chewing slighty on her bottom lip.

"Uh, I was just wondering if you'd like to go to Starbucks with a couple friends and me," I begin. "We'll get back in time for fifth hour. I just heard that Silena's a teacher's aid now, and Reyna and Rachel have classes, so that leaves you alone. If you don't have anything better to do..." I leave that sentence hanging, waiting for her answer.

"I'd love to," Annabeth replies, "but I don't have any money on me."

"I'll pay," I say, without thinking. I mentally slap myself. I only grabbed enough money this morning to get a drink for myself. But because my mom drilled into my head as a kid to always treat girls with respect, I immediately offered to pay. I'll have to borrow money from Thalia.

"Really?" Annabeth says, surprised. "Thank you."

"Come on," I beckon. "Grover and Thalia are at the car, waiting."

The final bell rings as we walk out of the building. Grover had pulled up to the front while I was talking to Annabeth, so we hop right in. Grover's at the wheel and Thalia's sitting in the passenger seat, so Annabeth and I sit in the back.

"Hello, Miss Chase," Grover says, glancing in the rearview mirror at us. "How are you today?"

I roll my eyes at Grover's posh manners. He acts like this everytime we hang out with girls we're not good friends with. It's part of his personality. He thinks girls'll go for a gentleman, but honestly, it weirds out most of the girls at our school.

Annabeth laughs. "I'm great. How are you?"

"I'm excellent," Grover replies, winking at her. She laughs again.

"Sorry," I apologize. "Grover goes all prestigious, posh gentleman when he's around girls."

"Hey!" Grover exclaims.

"I don't mind," Annabeth reassures.

"So blondie," Thalia starts.

Annabeth raises an eyebrow pointedly.

"Annabeth," Thalia corrects. "What did Fish Face here do to convince you to come with him?"

Annabeth tilts her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Thalia rolls her eyes. "No girl comes with Percy _willingly_. So what did he do to get you to come? Blackmail you? Promise to do your chemistry homework for the next two weeks?"

Annabeth grins. "No. He didn't do anything. I came on my own free will."

Thalia gasps, aghast. She turns to look at me, her eyes wide. Then her expression changes into a mischievous grin. "She's a keeper, Perce."

"Shut up," I say, leaning forward to whack her upside the head. Thalia dodges, snickering.

"Start driving, Goat Boy," she demands.

"Stop calling me that!" Grover protests as he begins driving out of the parking lot.

"Well, if you didn't have that nervous laugh, maybe I would."

"It doesn't sound like a goat!"

Annabeth shoots me a quizzical look. "What are they talking about?" she whispers.

"Don't ask," I whisper back.

"They're whispering!" Thalia shouts teasingly. I groan. It's going to be a long drive.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The nearest Starbucks is three miles away. Three miles of enduring Thalia's endearing, wonderful comments about me and Annabeth. So, of course, I was relieved when Grover finally pulled into the small coffee shop.

I quickly climbed out of the car and held the door open as Annabeth climbed out. Grover's immediately at her side and escorting her inside. I take the opportunity to get money from Thalia.

"Hey, Thals," I say quietly, "can I borrow some money? I kinda offered to buy Annabeth's drink, then realized that I only have enough money to buy my own drink."

Thalia smirked. "Don't buy yourself a drink then."

I groan. "Thalia, please?"

I gave her my best puppy dog look, and she gave in. "Fine," she says, shoving a five dollar bill into my hand. "But you owe me."

I grin. "When do I not?"

We both walk into the shop, the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting into my nose. I look around to find the place not too busy. There's a middle-aged man, maybe in his forties, working on a laptop while sipping his drink. Not far from him, by the window, is an elderly couple, leisurely chatting as they sip their drinks. And towards the middle are around six college-age students, talking loudly and and laughing obnoxiously.

Annabeth and Grover are already at the register. Grover's ordering his usual drink: expresso. Thalia and I quickly get in line behind them.

"Hey," Annabeth says, while Thalia quickly adds her order to Grover's tab. I hear Grover start complaining and Thalia tells him to calm down as she stuffs three dollars in his hand.

"What are you getting?" I ask.

"You don't have to pay, Percy," she says. "I don't have to get a drink."

"One cannot simply come to Starbucks and not get a drink," I say, grinning. "Besides, I don't care. It's no big deal."

Annabeth still looks unsure, but she doesn't say anything else about it. We get up to order. Annabeth orders a hot chocolate, and I get one also. We put out name down and join Thalia and Grover at our usual table at the far corner of the shop. I take a seat next to Grover and across from Annabeth, who sits next to Thalia.

"Truth or dare?" Thalia is asking Grover when Annabeth and I get over there.

"Dare," Grover answers rather feebishly. Thalia's dares are either dangerous, against the rules, or utterly humiliating. But if he didn't take it, he'd look like a wimp. So, the dare it is.

"I dare you," Thalia says as she glances around the shop, "to go over to that man over there and start up a conversation."

Grover's pained face suddenly takes on a relieved look. "That can't be too-"

"I'm not done," Thalia cut in menacingly. "Then, I want you to take a big swig of his drink right in front of him, pat his cheek, and walk off."

I stifle a laugh. Grover's a very shy person if you're not good friends with him. Just picturing him doing Thalia's dare is harder to do than passing a calculus test.

Grover paled again. "Thalia, are you sure that's not a little too creepy?"

"If you don't do it, you have to stand up on a chair and yell, 'I'm a chicken!' across the whole place," Thalia snickers. When she sees Grover's fearful face, she shrugs and says, "You were the one who chose dare."

Grover groans and glares at the goth girl across from him. As he gets up and starts walking over to the man, I look over at Annabeth. She's smiling and watching Grover, amused. She catches my glance and grins at me.

My heart begins to beat a little faster.

We three watch as Grover asks the man if he can join him. The man nods, and Grover takes a seat in the vacant chair across from him. Grover starts up a friendly conversation. I can't hear them from where I'm sitting, but based on their hand gestures, I'm guessing that Grover asked him what he's working on. The man begins talking, and once he's done, goes back to his laptop. Grover glances back at us, nervous. Thalia makes a "go on" gesture with her hand and leans back in her chair, anxiously awaiting Grover's act of humiliation with a wicked smile. Annabeth and I are both trying not to laugh.

Grover turns back around to the man, picks up his drink, takes a big swig, and sets it back down. Then, while the man gives him a disgusted look, gets up, pats the man's cheek, and says goodbye.

As Grover makes his way back to our table, Thalia, Annabeth, and I erupt in guffaws. From behind Grover, I see the man glance at us, then at Grover, and chuckle as he goes back to his laptop. I laugh harder.

"It's not funny, you guys," Grover insists as he sits back down.

"Yeah, right," Thalia says. "Like you wouldn't be laughing if Percy or I did it."

Grover glares at her. We don't finish our game of Truth or Dare. Grover's experience was enough fun for the day. Our drinks arrive, and I start a conversation about a movie that's come out recently. Annabeth participates in the conversation, much to my surprise. I figured she would be quiet and shy, but she fits right in. Her and Thalia get along well, teaming up in arguments and discussing how good One Direction's music is (Thalia hates it all, but Annabeth likes a few songs.). It isn't until Annabeth's phone goes off that she starts acting weird.

Grover and Thalia are arguing, as usual. Grover's saying that we shouldn't cut down trees to make paper. Thalia argues that we don't have much else to make it from.

Annabeth and I watch with amused expressions on our faces. They fight about the stupidest things, I think.

Annabeth's phone rings. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her pick it up and check the caller ID. Her entire face changes. Her eyes, earlier greyish blue and shining, turn a dark grey, like the sky during a hurricane. Her lips part in an "O" and her face drains of color. A small gasp escapes from her lips.

I turn my attention to her. "What's wrong?" I ask.

Her shocked expression dissolves back into her normal look, but I can see that her eyes look the same as they did the day I met her: nervous and guarded.

"Nothing," she replies, her voice shaking. She angrily presses the decline button. "It's almost 12:05. Should we be heading back?"

I look down at my watch, and see that, yes, it's time to go. The four of us get up and walk back to Grover's car, our half-finished drinks in our hands.

The entire drive back, Annabeth doesn't speak. She stares out the window as we race back, midlessly playing with her fingers in her lap. I want to ask her who called her and why it bothers her so much. But I don't. I stare out of my window, listening to Thalia and Grover continue their argument in the front, completely unaware of the emotional tension in the back.

It isn't until we get to the school and are walking to English class that I get the courage to ask Annabeth about the phone call.

It's just us in the hallway. The bell ending fourth hour should ring at any moment. The two of us sip our hot drinks, letting the warmth melt away the cold from outside. I look over at Annabeth. Her pace matches mine, and, just like in Starbucks, her eyes are guarded and nervous. My mind itches to know what's wrong, and before I know what I'm doing, I say, "Who called you? At Starbucks?"

Annabeth tenses. I'm sure that I've lost all chances I ever had of becoming friends with her. But then she says, "An old friend. I never thought I'd hear from him again."

Something that was nervously bubbling up in my stomach quickly deflates in relief. I don't know why I was so nervous, why I'm so relieved now that it wasn't a boyfriend.

"Well," I start slowly, "as long as no more old friends call you, maybe we can make this a regular thing."

A smile slowly creeps onto Annabeth's face. "Really?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "As long as you don't have anything better to do."

Annabeth hesitates, and for a split second, I think that she's going to decline. She glances at her bag, where I know her phone is, and bites her lip, like she's making a decision. Then, she smiles. "I'd like that."

Something strange happens. When she smiles, my stomach begins to feel funny. My heart beats a little faster. My hands get sweaty.

I smile back and we walk to Paul's close together. Annabeth starts talking about how much fun she had at Starbucks with us. I love listening to her talk. Her voice is so sweet and gentle. She sounds so at ease, so relaxed. It makes me happy.

"So, I'm guessing you enjoyed yourself," I tease, grinning.

Annabeth laughs. "Yeah," she says. Her tone of voice is distant, like she's thinking of something much deeper and more personal than a snack at a coffee shop. "I guess I did."

Then, she adds quietly, to herself, "I can't remember the last time I was that relaxed and happy."

**So what did you think? I think this is one of my better chapters, but you guys might think the opposite. So please review! Please!**

**"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13**


	7. Chapter 7

**Guys. I have 58 favorites and 89 followers for this story. You guys are incredible. **

**But onto more important matters. The HoH cover was revealed! Who saw it? I'm flipping out! Was it just me, or did Annabeth look slightly unconscious? I don't know, it just looked like that. And I didn't like how the artist portrayed Percy (he looked kinda...what's the word...overgrown?). But overall, it was a good, mysterious cover, and it's making me want the book so bad!**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Sorry if there are more typos than usual. I have a terrible headache, so I was trying to hurry. Plus, Letters To Juliet is on, so I kinda wanna watch that. **

**Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan. **

Chapter Seven

Annabeth's POV

_You kinda, like, make me stop and stare. You distract me from my life when I think of you. You make my heart pound when you look at me. You make me dream about you at night. But sometimes, I end up laying awake all night thinking about you, because I caught you staring at me too. _

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

He called me.

It felt weird, seeing his name and picture on the screen of my phone. It hasn't been there for eight months. Seeing it again sent me into a shock, a paralysis, as emotions ran rampant through me.

I hate this. I hate how vulnerable he can make me feel. I hate how one small thing can send a torrent of memories-memories of pain-down onto me, all because of him. I _hate_ this.

But despite all of this hate that I feel, I still find that there's one person that I can let my guard down around. One person who brings out my real smile, who seems to extract information from me, who is the opposite of me in every way, but still manages to make me laugh.

One person by the name of Percy Jackson.

That day at Starbucks was magical. I found myself pushing away every thought about him and Calypso and all of my old friends involuntarily. I found myself focused on the present, not the past.

I've never really understood the term "capture the moment". I always wanted the future to arrive so quickly, thinking it would be spent with him and all of my other friends. But now that that's all gone, I think I finally understand what it means. It's like an unfinished quote: capture the moment...because once it's over, you can't get it back.

And I did. I captured all of those moments at Starbucks. When Grover completed Thalia's dare. When Percy and Thalia teased each other. How I felt so involved, so included. Percy's smile, the way his eyes shine. Grover's nervous laugh. Thalia's electric blue eyes, crackling with energy. And even after, when Percy invited me to attend regularly with him. The way I had to decide to move on, or stay behind and fantasize about winning him back, even though I know that my fantasies will never come true.

And, for the first time in eight months, I chose to move on.

It felt good. Yes, the hurt is still there. No, I might not ever fully get over him. But that choice to accept Percy's invitation fueled me to move on completely. And the fact that I actually believe in myself proves that I can.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"And what would you like, miss?" our waiter asks me.

I blink and pull myself out of my thoughts. Our waiter-a guy with cocoa-colored, cropped hair and green eyes-is staring at me expectantly, his pen and pad in hand."Oh, uh, a water, please," I stammer.

The boy walks off to get our drinks. I look at the other three girls at the table: Silena, Reyna, and Rachel. Rachel seems to be admiring the waiter as he walks and Silena and Reyna are talking about who knows what.

It's Saturday and these three girls invited me to go shopping with them. After a morning of being shoved into a dressing room with loads of clothes to model, they took me to their favorite diner for lunch. Once we finish eating, Silena's convinced all three of us to go to the boys' swim meet, since Beckendorf is on the team.

For some reason, I'm excited to go watch the boys. Percy'll be there. Ever since free period yesterday, I've been wanting to be around him. We sat next to each other in English and at lunch. We ran next to each other in gym class while doing laps. And he texted me last night, which resulted in a two-hour long conversation. If we're not at leats friends, then I don't know what we are.

Nonetheless, I find myself anticipating the meet.

"So," Silena drawls, pulling me out of my thoughts, "what's the news with Percy?"

"What news?" I ask innocently.

Silena rolls her eyes. "It's no secret that you two have been practically inseparable lately. So what's up with that?"

"Do you like him?" Rachel asks.

I open my mouth to reply and say that we're just friends, but then our waiter comes by to deliver our drinks. Silena and Rachel both look annoyed by the interruption, but Reyna just sits with an amused look on her face.

"Thank you," I tell the waiter as he sets my drink down in front of me.

"Only the best for a beautiful girl," the waiter replies, winking. I feel my face heating up and know I'm probably blushing profusely. I smile at him.

Inside, my heart is pounding. Am I really ready for this? Ready to move on? Moving on means dealing with people, like that flirty waiter. Then again, what difference does it make? I've dealt with other guys before, right? Ones that were flirting with me and ones that weren't?

I take a sip of my water. Maybe I'm just overthinking this whole "moving on" thing. Yes, that's what it is. I just need to relax and forget about him. Him and everything else connected to him. Starting at the meet.

Silena and Rachel gape at me. "What?" I ask, acting like I didn't notice the waiter.

It doesn't work.

Rachel rolls her eyes. "Oh, please, Annabeth. You just expect us to believe that you just _happened_ not to notice that the hottest waiter at this diner just flirted with you?"

"He's not very hot," I murmur.

"Then you are obviously blind," Silena states."I have a boyfriend, and even I can see that he is very attractive."

"How does your having a boyfriend have anything to do with the waiter's attractiveness?" Reyna voices the question I fail to ask.

"Love clouds one's vision," Silena answers dreamily. "Mostly."

"Oh, I see now," Rachel announces teasingly. "He's just not her type. She likes scruffy, green-eyes swimmers. Now, who do we know who fits that description? Oh, yeah! Percy!"

I glare at the redhead. Why did she have to bring him up? I thought I had done good avoiding the topic. Apparently, I was wrong.

"I don't have a type," I snap. "And Percy and I are just friends. I've only known him for a week."

Silena shrugs. "There's a couple at the retirement home I work at who got engaged after only a week of dating."

"High school relationships don't last anyway," I retort, feeling a sharp pang in my heart. I know that from personal experience.

"Whatever," SIlena says, waving her hand in the air, as if she were erasing our argument. "You haven't answered my question yet. What's up with Percy?"

"Nothing," I say, exasperated. "We're just friends. That's it."

"That's not what I've been seeing," Rachel says pointedly. "He's crushing on you bigtime."

"Maybe even in love," Silena says, looking at me like she's deciding which flowers would look best at my wedding.

"Guys, stop it!" I plead. I turn to Reyna, who's been quiet the whole time. "Help me, please."

She looks at me apologetically. "Sorry, Annabeth. Even I can tell that he likes you."

I groan as the waiter comes back to take our orders. We all order the same thing: cheeseburgers with fries.

"I love how he's wearing an Oxford," Rachel drawls."With the sleeves rolled up."

"And his eyes are so green," Silena adds. "Like Percy's!" All three girls look at me pointedly. I duck my head and study the tablecloth, my face hot.

"Aw, look! She's blushing!" Rachel screeches.

I close my eyes. It's going to be a long lunch.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The meet isn't until three, and we finish lunch at two, so we go to a nearby grocery store to get little containers of ice cream.

"I feel like I've gained ten pounds," I complain from the back seat of Reyna's car. "Thanks a lot, guys."

"No problem!" Silena says cheerfully from the passenger seat. She's been perky ever since we got in the car to go to the school. I think it's because she gets to see Beckendorf. She says it's because of all the sugar in her.

By the time we get to the school for the meet, the room is roaring. The cheerleaders are in front of the stands doing flips and stunts and pumping up the crowd. As we search for a place to sit, I can tell there's almost every high schooler here. There's no open seat.

Finally, the four of us spot Leo and Malcolm in one of the middle rows. After fighting our way up and through the shouting crowd of high schoolers, we get to the two boys. I take a seat inbbetween them.

"Why are there so many people here?" I ask Leo.

"We're playing our number one rival," he explains. "The New Jersey Jaguars."

"Oh," I say.

"Plus, everyone, er, every _girl_ wants to see Percy without a shirt on," Malcolm adds.

"Oh," I say again, my cheeks reddening, though I have no idea why.

"Last year, the Jaguars beat our team by a few seconds," Reyna informs me, leaning across Leo. "Only because Percy had hurt his shoulder a few days before and it was sore."

"Poor Percy," I say, feeling bad. I know what it feels like to let people down. I also know what it feels like to be let down. I also know what it feel like to be let down.

Reyna grins at me. "Yup," she says, leaning back. "Poor Percy."

I shoot her a glare, then begin talking to the boys. I find that Malcolm's a lot like me; loves to read, but dyslexic also. Leo tells me that he's ADHD, bu I dind't need him to tell me that. It is obvious by the way he fidgets in his chair and his hands never stop moving. A few minutes into the conversation, leo pulls out a small contraption out of his pocket and starts messing with it.

"What're you working on?" I ask.

Leo looks up at me, startled, then says sheepishly, "I'm repairing one of my mom's old watches. I'm trying to get it to tell you the time if you ask it instead of you having to look at it."

"That's really cool," I say, studying the watch, which he's showing off to me. It's a simple watch-silver face, faux diamonds lining the outside, silver wristband matching the face-but beautiful. "Where'd you get it?"

Leo's face darkens. "It was my mom's," he says quietly.

"Oh," I reply, feeling awkward and trying not to think about his use of past tense. "I'm sorry."

Leo shrugs. "Nah, it's fine," he says, his tone happy again. "That was a while ago."

I smile and nod, still feeling uneasy. I kind of know what it feels like to lose a parent, and I've never liked people being sympathetic for me when I tell them that my parents are divorced. I feel like I should say something to Leo, something about how I know how he feels, but I just let the subject drop.

The crowd of students begin to cheer loudly and I see that the swim team has is running out of the locker room. I scan the faces as I clap, looking for one in particular. I see Beckendorf, a big smile on his face as he waves to Silena. I look over at the black-haired girl and can practically feel her happiness at just seeing her boyfriend radiating off of her. I begin to wonder, yet again, what the story is between those two. It isn't everyday that you come across a couple as much in love as they are.

Then, I see him. His midnight black hair is as floppy as ever, and his eyes shine with happiness. He runs in with strong, confident steps, and I immediately know that water is where he belongs.

Percy looks up and waves at me. The girls in front of me all sigh, thinking that he's waving at one of them. Both Silena and Rachel lean over Malcolm and grin at me. Leo and Malcolm both shoot me questioning looks.

I feel my face heating up, but my stomach sinks. I feel guilty. Why do I feel guilty? My last relationship is over and done. It's not like I'm betraying his trust. He's already betrayed mine. There's no reason to feel this way.

Percy gets up on a board as one of the representatives for Goode High. He shakes out his arms and legs and rolls his head around to stretch his neck. The other swimmers hurry to their boards and get in the diving position.

I hear the girls in front of me discussing how Percy looks in his swim trunks. I roll my eyes. Please. They have to have better things to do with their voices than talk about Percy Jackson's looks. Such as, I don't know, cheering.

The gunshot signaling the start of the race brings me out of my thoughts. I turn to see Percy dive into the water in perfect formation, leaving nothing but a small splash behind him.

The cheering dies down ever so slightly as the crowd watches the race with intensity. A few still cheer and I near people exchange who they thought would win. Most involve Percy.

But all of these conversations are just background noises. My whole attention is fixed on Percy. Well, Percy's swimming to be exact.

It's like nothing I've ever seen. His arms move swiftly, cutting through the water like a shark's fin and propelling him forward. His head comes up for breath only a couple times. And when he flips and pushes off the wall, all the muscles in his arms and legs tense up, only releasing when he's off of the wall.

I never take my eyes off of Percy. Not until the race is over. "Wow," I say out loud, to no one in particular, "when they told me he was good, I didn't know that he was that good."

"Told you!" Silena exclaims, her tone triumphant. I laugh and roll my eyes.

I look back down at Percy treading water as he celebrates his win. His eyes scan the bleachers until they stop and rest on me. I see his smile widen and he winks playfully. I laugh and wink back. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Leo wink too, with a slightly confused look on his face, probably thinking Percy was looking at him. That makes me laugh.

Something in my chest builds up as I laugh. Something by my heart. As Percy climbs out of the pool and all of the girls go back to admiring him, I let my mind wander back to the Incident. Or, more precisely, how I felt after. I notice that there's a distinct difference between then and now. Then, my heart was completely broken, just shards strewn on the ground. Now, I can feel parts of it reconnecting and building up to how it used to be.

The difference between now and then is that now, I'm moving on.

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**"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9**


	8. Chapter 8

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**Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan. **

Chapter Eight

Percy

"_And my momma swore that she would never let herself forget. And that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it does not exist. But darling, you are the only exception."_

_-"The Only Exception" by Paramore_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Usually, I get excited over a swim meet, but today, I'm more nervous than anything.

Maybe it's because it's our last meet. Maybe it's because the whole school will be watching. Or maybe it's because Annabeth Chase will be there.

I've never felt like this before. It's a strange feeling. Every time Annabeth laughs or smiles, I get a fuzzy feeling in my stomach. Heck, I get a fuzzy feeling in my stomach when she even _looks _at me.

Is this normal? Am I sick or something? I really hope not. Puking in the pool is not something on my bucketlist.

"Hey, Grover," I ask while closing my gym locker, "can I ask you something?"

The locker room is basically empty, but Grover looks around for people anyway, probably sensing the seriousness in my tone. "Yeah, man," he says. "Anything."

I take a deep breath as I sit on the bench next to him. "What do you think of Annabeth?"

Grover gives me a sly grin, one that makes me wonder why I'm talking to him about Annabeth, why I'm talking to him at all. "I think she's nice," he answers. "And cute."

At the word "cute" he shoots me a pointed look, which I deflect with a glare.

"Why are you asking, Perce?" Grover teases.

Suddenly, I regret starting this conversation. In an attempt to cover up my mistake, I say, "I was thinking of asking her to go to Montauk with us."

Grover's jaw drops. "Dude," he says slowly. "Montauk?"

My friends and I have been going to Montauk beach for years now. My mom rents us a nice cabin for us to stay at over spring break. My mom used to drive me and all of my friends down there, but ever since I turned sixteen and got my license, I've driven us down there. It's a break for all of us – no school, no homework, no curfew, no adults. It's just time to hang out as friends.

I can understand Grover's shock, though. We haven't invited a new person to go with us since we were freshmen. Frank had introduced us to eighth grader, Hazel Levesque, and she seemed so friendly and mature, that we decided to invite her. Ever since then, we haven't invited anybody to go with us.

To invite Annabeth would spread rumors around school about how the famous spring break beach trip had been crashed. To invite Annabeth would also make the whole school think that if they charmed me, I'd invite them too.

But really, is it such a bad idea? Now that I think about it, it actually sounds pretty good. Maybe I can figure out why I feel this way around her.

"Yeah," I say, speaking honestly now. "Montauk."

"But why?" Grover asks.

I shoot him a glare. "Why are you asking? Do you have something against her?"

Grover throws his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "No, no. That's not what I meant. I like Annabeth. I really do."

I immediately begin to blush. Of course Grover didn't mean it like that. And what was I doing, getting so protective over her? She's not even mine to get protective of.

"I know, I know," I say. "Sorry."

Grover shrugs. "I just meant why you, all of a sudden, want to have everything to do with her?"

"I don't," I spit back, my tone becoming defensive involuntarily. "I just thought it would be nice."

Grover snickers.

"What?" I demand.

"Nothing," he replies, hiding a smile. "I think it's a very nice thing to do."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Swimming always has a way of wiping my mind clear of everything. It doesn't disappoint me now.

After talking with Grover, my mind was consumed with thoughts of Annabeth. It didn't help when I got out there and immediately spotted Annabeth.

On seeing her, my face lit up. I felt my eyes shining and and my lips pulled up in a smile. Without meaning to, I lifted my hand up and waved.

She didn't wave back. Instead, her face turned bright red. And for some reason, it mde me feel warm inside.

Now, up on the block, hunched over, ready to dive in any second, I wipe these thoughts out of my mind. I clear my head of everything except one thought: _forward. _

And that's where I go. Once the gun goes off, I dive into the crystal blue water and turn into a speed-swimming robot. My arms move, slicing through the water, pushing me forward, forward, forward, until I've taken the lead. Still, the only thought running through my head is, _forward. _

Out of the corner of my eye, I see another guy catching up to me. The chant that I've created – _forward, forward, forward – _is replaced with a new one: _faster, faster, faster._

My lungs burn, yearning for air. My arms and legs ache, but I push myself harder, my two chants repeating themselves in my head. The wall appears in front of me. I prepare myself for the flip turn, tensing up my arms and legs. I get to the wall and do what I always do: I become one with the water. My tense muscles relax as I flip, then tighten again as I push off of the wall and start swimming back.

I don't see another guy around me, so I lift my head out of the water and refill my lungs with air. I hear the cheers from the crowd, hear them egging me on, and it reenergizes me. I duck my head back under and surge forward, swimming until I hit the wall where I first started.

I lift my head up out of the water and do my signature victory dance: treading water as I pump my fists in the air. So I guess it's not very _signature._

Now that the first race is over, Annabeth appears in my thoughts. Dang, is that girl ever going to leave them?

The butterflies in my stomach give me my answer when I wink at her and she winks back: no. No, she's never going to leave my thoughts. A part of me is annoyed at this, but the part of me wonders if it's such a bad thing.

The rest of the races go well, with us winning winning them all except one, which we should've won. David obviously finished first.

After the meet, I change back into my regular clothes and congratulate all the guys on a great season and that I expect them to win state for me next year. It's kinda sad to think that this could be my last meet, unless I get a swimming scholarship to college. After looking around the locker room one last time, I walk out. And straight into Annabeth Chase.

"Oh, sorry!" I apologize, taking a step away from her. "Didn't see you there."

"Obviously," she teases, her face cherry red.

"What were you doing outside the guys' locker room?" I ask. Before I know what I'm saying, I go, "I don't think they'd let you in."

Annabeth's face gets even redder, which I didn't think was possible. "No, no, no, no, no," she protests rather quickly. "No, I was waiting for you."

"Oh, really?" I say, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Yeah, I wanted to congratulate you," she replies, then adds on quietly, "And I need a ride home."

"What, why?" I ask, though secretly happy that she asked me. "Did your friends abandon you?"

"Of the sort," she says, clearly irritated. "Silena's riding home with Beckendorf. While I was talking to those two, Reyna and Rachel, who were _supposed_ to take me home, left without me."

"Oh," I say. "Great friends you have."

Annabeth snorted, as if to say, _I know, right?_

"Well, can I get a ride from you?" she asks, looking up at me with her wide, grey-like-cobblestones eyes.

"Yeah," I say, like I drive girls home all the time. "Sure."

Annabeth smiles. "Thanks."

As we walk to my car, we discuss the meet. I can't really concentrate, though. Annabeth is just so...alluring. Being with her makes me think of a movie my mom loves: Pride and Prejudice. Matthew Macfayden plays a guy named Mr. Darcy, who is a rich snob that falls in love with a girl named Elizabeth Bennet, played by Kiera Knightley, who happens to hate him. At one point in the movie, once they're both in love, Mr. Darcy tells Elizabeth, "You've bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you."

The movie always annoyed me. There can't be such a thing as love, right? Not when your father leaves you and your mom before you're even born, then your mom remarries an abusive jerk just so there can be another person providing money for us (although all it seemed like Smelly Gabe did was it around and drink beer). All this crumby, dumb love stuff is fake, something we humans make up.

But now, I'm realizing that the guy may have a point. Not about the "I love you" part, but the bewitched part. There are some people who are enticing, bewitching, who take over your inmost being. And Annabeth Chase is definitely one of those people.

"Percy?"

"Huh?" I say, pulling myself out of my thoughts and back to Annabeth, who's watching me expectantly.

She laughs, a sound that sends tingles all the way down to the tips of my toes. "I asked you how you felt you did today?" she explains, amusement poisoning her toes.

"Oh," I say. "Well, I guess I did okay."

"Really?" Annabeth asks. She stops walking, even though we're in the middle of a parking lot, and looks at me. "That's seriously your opinion?"

Her gaze is piercing, yet enticing. I can't look away. "I've had better days," I reply quietly.

She shakes her head. "Then I'd like to see you on those days. Because what I saw just now – that was incredible. Better than any high school or college swimmer. If you wanted too, you could probably take on the Olympic swimmers."

Her words ring with honesty. Of course, I've heard that same thing from others: coaches, family, friends. But coming from Annabeth, it felt different. It felt true.

"It's okay to say that you thought you did good," Annabeth continues. "It's not a crime. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Okay," I say, smiling. She laughs.

We walk in silence until we get to my car. Annabeth stops and starts laughing. Like, authentic laughing, where she's clutching her stomach and doubling over.

"What?" I ask.

She doesn't answer until she's calmed down. "_That's _your car?"

I glance at my Ford pick-up truck. Yes, it's old, the blue color basically covered up by brown rust. The bed is still pretty clean though – I never used it for more than holding luggage when my mom and I went to Montauk for the weekend, just the two of us. I'm actually pretty proud of my truck. It's the result of years of working to get the money.

"Yeah," I say. "What's wrong with it?"

"Oh, nothing." Annabeth's eyes sparkle. "I just expected the great Percy Jackson to ride in something more...stylish."

"Well, not all popular guys ride in million dollar vehicles," I say defensively, though not really offended.

"Oh, so you admit you're popular."

"Shut up. Please, just shut up."

I walk over to the passenger side and open the door for Annabeth. She gets in the seat without a word, but a small smile plays on her lips.

"What is this?" I feign offense. "No thank you?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes with faux irritation. "Thank you."

I grin and close the door and hop into the bed, then hop out and get into the driver's seat.

As I start the truck, Annabeth watches me. "What?" I ask.

In reply, she just shakes her head and looks out the window.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Turns out, Annabeth lives only about a block from me.

Annabeth acts different on the drive home – looser, more comfortable. I can't help but feel happy that it's me who's making her feel this way.

"So," I say, turning down the radio, "who's your favorite singer?"

"Hm," she says. "Probably Hunter Hayes. Or Taylor Swift. Or Adele."

"Indecisive, aren't we?" I tease, although I'm not the one to talk. I have probably fifty different favorite singers or bands.

"Oh, shut up."

Just then, her phone rings. She looks at me apologetically and answers. "Hello?"

I hear muffled voices on the other end and Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Yeah, thanks for that. And I got a ride from Percy."

Squealing. Lots of it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Annabeth's ears go red. I chuckle and shake my head , keeping my eyes on the road.

"Yeah. Okay. Bye." Annabeth hangs up. Looking at me, she goes, "Sorry. That was Rachel and Reyna."

I grin, remembering the squealing. "Do they find me hunky and irresistable?"

"Really? 'Hunky'?"

"It was the first thing that popped into my head."

Annabeth laughs and we continue in silence. As we pass my apartment building, I ask, "So, is there another reason you came to New York?"

Something weird happens. Annabeth's face goes white and panic fills her eyes. Then, as quickly as it came, it's gone and her face is it's normal color with her regular nonchalant expression. "Nope," she says. "Just architecture."

"Oh." Another silence follows, but this one is more awkward. Annabeth shifts uncomfortably, then says, "This is my building up here."

I stop in front of a middle-class looking apartment building – not too fancy, but not too trashy. It isn't a tall building, maybe ten stories high. It's made of red brick, and the balconies are barred with golden bars. A carpeted walkway leads to the front doors, covered by a fancy canopy. A doorman is in the front, opening doors for people, which I think is a plus. It's definitely a place for braniacs to live.

"Thanks for driving me home," Annabeth says as she climbs out.

"Hey," I reply, "if your friends ever ditch you again, just give me a call."

She smiles – a genuine, joyful smile that makes the whole zoo stampede in my stomach. "Bye."

"Bye," I call, and she smiles again, then walks through the door into her building.

After she's gone, I lean back into my seat. Annabeth is something else, in a good way. No girl has ever had this effect on me. Not even Piper, who's the most beautiful girl at school. Whenever she's with me, I feel more alive. It's a scary, yet a satisfying feeling.

I blink my eyes a couple of times to bring myself out of my daze. I discover that I had been staring at the door that Annabeth had walked through and now the doorman is grinning at me, like he knows something I don't. I groan to myself and pull the car away from the building, away from Annabeth.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I walk into my little apartment and am met with the smell of chocolate chip cookies.

I follow the smell and end up in the kitchen, where my mom is taking cookies off of the pan and putting them on a plate. I smile when I see that she dyed them blue.

As a kid, my stepdad, Gabe, told my mom that blue food didn't exist. My mom's rebellious streak decided to show itself in that situation, and she went out of her way to make blue food – blue cakes, blue eggs, even blue tortillas on taco nights. Because of this, blue became my favorite color because I always associated it with good memories.

"Hey, Mom," I say as I swipe a cookie off the plate.

"Good afternoon, Percy," she says. "How was your day?"

"Good. We won the swim meet."

A smile spreads across my mom's face. "Oh, Percy, that's wonderful! I wish I could've been there to see it."

My mom is a writer and she had a meeting with her editor during my meet. I didn't hold that against her; she had been there for for every other one, after all. "It's fine," I tell her. "You couldn't help it."

She smiles thankfully at me and continues scooping cookies in silence.

"Mom," I blurt out, "there's this girl at school who's making me feel nervous."

She scoops up the last cookie, then sets it down and turns to look at me. I'm surprised to see that her lips form a half smile. "What does it feel like?"

I shrug. "It's hard to explain. Whenever she smiles at me, I get butterflies in my stomach. Whenever she laughs, it sends tingles through me. When she asks for something, I feel a strong need to provide it. It's just, whenever I'm around her, I'm on edge."

"Oh, Percy," my mom says, her lips now forming a full-out smile. "If I didn't now better, I'd say you were in love."

My stomach sinks at the word "love". I feel my face turn red, so I escape to my room, leaving my mom alone to tell Paul when he gets home.

I can't be in love. It's not a real thing. It's the result of dreaming humans who are alone in the world. It's not real. Love isn't real.

Right?

**Aw! Percy's in love! So cute! What's he gonna do? **

**Hope y'all have great Father's Day! **

**"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are becoming new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 (Thanks, ElmoDaHorse!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, y'all! I'm back! Finally! **

**Oh my gosh, the SoM movie comes out tomorrow! I'm super excited! Who's going to see it!**

**Okay, so I finally got the SoM graphic novel today from the library. I haven't read the PJO books in a while, because I have this huge stack of books on my dresser from the library that I've been reading. So anyways, I started the novel and the FEELS! Like, I know that Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, so reading about them when they're so young and all their worrying about is trying to get the Fleece for Thalia's pine, and I'm just like, "Enjoy this because soon you're going to be thrown into Tartarus and probably die." So yeah. **

**This chapter is pretty long and there's lots of Percabeth fluff, so have fun reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Or Hunter Hayes' "Wanted". Or Paramore's "The Only Exception".**

Chapter Nine

Annabeth

"_I'd get you into trouble and take all the blame."_

_-"If You Told Me Too" by Hunter Hayes_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Charlie invited me to go to Florida with him over spring break," Silena announces to me at the end of third hour. "His family's renting a beach house on the shore."

"Oh really?" I say, looking over at Beckendorf. He's nodding in approval, his eyes shining proudly. I smile at his happiness. "That's exciting."

"Yeah," Silena says dreamily, like she's already thinking of what to do there, even though spring break isn't for a long time. "So what are you doing, Annabeth?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

Silena starts talking to Beckendorf about who-knows-what, and I let my mind wander to the car ride with Percy on Saturday. Two days have passed since then, and I'm still marveling at how he'd made me feel so comfortable. It felt like we'd known each other for years then, even though it's only been a week.

Now, it's third period, Monday morning, and I can't wait to get to fourth hour, where I'll be going out with Percy, Thalia, and Grover.

"Hey, Annabeth," a male's voice says from the right of me. I turn to see none other than Peyton James, Goode's number one bully and player. I recognize him as the one who asked me if I was single my first day here. Peyton's leaning back on the back legs of the chair and he's smiling widely at me.

I groan internally. "Hi, Peyton."

"So that test was pretty hard today wasn't it?" he says. "How'd you think you do?"

I smirk. That test was super easy. Nearly everyone finished early. "It really wasn't that hard," I say. "If you studied."

Peyton laughs loudly. Silena and Beckendorf both glance behind them at me, silently asking if I needed them to intervene. I shake my head slightly. I can handle this.

Once Peyton stops laughing, he scoots his chair closer to mine and puts his arm around me. "You're one funny chick, Annabeth."

I force a giggle. "Glad you think so."

"Hey, I'm getting together with the guys on Friday. You wanna be my date?" He wraps his arm around me and wiggles his eyebrows. "It'd be fun."

I get the feeling that his definition of fun and my definition of fun are two very different things. "I'm gonna have to pass," I say as the bell rings, allowing me to escape from Peyton's grasp.

"What was that about?" Silena asks me as we walk out of the classroom.

I make a face. "I don't even know."

Silena laughs at my misfortune. "Well, too bad for him," she teases. ""You're already taken."

I elbow the black-haired girl. "I am not!"

_Anymore_, I want to add. I shake that thought from my head. On Saturday, I promised myself that I would not think of him.

"Oh, please," Silena rolls her eyes. "So oblivious."

We get to my locker and I start dialing the combo. "What do you mean?"

"Neither of you can see how much you like each other," Silena explains. "You're both so oblivious."

I open my locker then turn to look at her. "I don't like Percy that way," I explain slowly so she'll get it. "Percy doesn't like me that way." I huff and start putting books in my locker.

"That's good," a voice says from the other side of my locker. "I was worrying."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Really, my patience has wore thin with this kid. "Hi, Peyton."

"Hey, Annie-" I cringe at that name. "-I was thinking about how you said no to me in Chemistry. I understand, you just want to take things slow. So how about a movie on Friday?"

I smile through gritted teeth. "No thanks, Peyton. I, uh, already have plans."

Peyton wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer. He's about six inches taller than me, so I have to look up to glare at him. "Let go of me," I snap, struggling to push him away, but he has an iron grip on me.

"Come on, Annie," he whispers in my ear. "What else could you possibly be doing?"

"Peyton, let go," I try again, still struggling to get out of his grasp. "I'm not going out with you."

"Aw, Annab-"

"Peyton!" I turn to see that Percy's making his way down the hallway, and angry look on his face.

"Oh, look who it is!" Peyton sneers. "Percy Jackson, here to save the day."

"Let go of her," Percy demands. His normal green eyes are shining with fury and he glares fiercely at Peyton. That boy can glare when he wants to.

"Or what?" Peyton demands, though he lets go of me. I move behind Percy. "We all know you're not gonna beat me up."

By now, a crowd has gathered around us. I glance at Silena from behind Percy, my eyes wide. She looks back at me with an awed expression, her lips forming an "o". Beckendorf is beside her, watching Percy with a slightly amused expression. The crowd consists of at least thirty people, all with either a shocked expression or an amused expression.

"You're right," Percy says. "I won't beat you up." He turns around, grabs my hand, and starts dragging me through the crowd of students. I hear surprised gasps, hushed whispers, and even some giggles, but, ultimately, I hear Peyton yelling, "Come back here, Jackson! Are you too scared to face me? Come back, coward!"

Percy ignores him and continues dragging me away. We walk through a few hallways filled with students who look at us with shocked faces. I see Drew with her friends, Jasmine and Brooklyn, glaring at me like I just dumped my lunch on her brand new outfit. I see Leo and Malcolm standing together talking with Reyna. All three stop talking and gape at me as I pass. Other students give me the same reaction.

At first, I don't understand why everyone's staring at Percy and I. But then I realize.

A sickly sweet feeling grows in my stomach. I feel my heart quicken and an unheard, small yelp escapes my lips.

Percy Jackson is holding my hand.

And now that I've come upon the realization of this, the feeling hits me head-on. His hand is rough, yet there's a strange warmth in it. It's much bigger than mine and envelopes it almost completely. His grip is firm but comforting. Our fingers aren't interlocked, but the feeling wouldn't have been different either way. This, holding hands, feels so good, so perfect, so...right.

We don't stop until we reach Grover's locker. By now, two minutes to the bell, people are heading to their next class, so there aren't many students in the hallway. Thalia is standing next to Grover, talking with him quietly. When she sees us, her eyes take in our joined hands and she half smiles. "Hey, guys," Percy says when we walk up.

"What took you guys so long?" Thalia demands. Her eyes trail back down to our hands and this time, Percy notices. He glances at them too and makes a face, like he's just realized that my hand is in his. He quickly lets go, completely red-faced, and avoids looking at me, turning his attention back to his best friends. I clench my now free hand, feeling slightly sad about his letting go. I liked holding his hand.

I blink. Did I really just think that? Where did that come from?

To clear my head, I turn my attention back to the conversation.

"We had a little run-in with Peyton," Percy explains. "No big deal."

"I could've handled it myself," I say.

Percy looks at me, an eyebrow raised. He looks like he's mentally going through replies to my comment. "Okay," he settles on.

Grover looks at us. "What happened?" he asks.

"Nothing," Percy and I say in unison. We look at each other.

"It wasn't important," I say.

Thalia gives me a look that says, _yeah, right._

"So!" Percy says in an attempt to change the subject. "Are we heading to Starbucks?"

"Actually, that's what Grover and I want to talk to you guys about," Thalia says. I hear a hint of mischief in her voice and my stomach drops.

When Grover doesn't say anything, Thalia elbows him. "Yes!" he says quickly. "Um, we both have tests tomorrow, so we can't go today. Have to study and stuff." He laughs nervously, and, as Thalia had said that first day in the car, it sounds like a goat's bleat.

"No, you d-" Percy starts, but Thalia interrupts him.

"Yes, we do," she argues, glaring at him.

"We'll help you study," I offer. "We don't have to go to Starbucks."

"No, no, we're fine," Thalia insists. "Aren't we, Grover?"

"Yeah, we're good." Another nervous bleat.

"Besides," Thalia continues, "you two deserve to get drinks. We wouldn't want to make you sacrifice that."

Percy and I both glare at her. It's obvious they don't have tests, and the real reason they're bailing is even more obvious. It brings a blush to my cheeks. But there's no use in arguing.

"Fine," I say. Thalia grins. "Come on, Percy."

"Do you want to take my car?" Grover asks. He grabs the keys off of the shelf in his locker and hands them to Percy.

"Nah." Percy waves the away. "I'll just take my truck."

"Okay, well, Goat Boy and I have to go," Thalia says in a rush. "Bye, guys. Have fun." And just like that, the two of them are gone. Percy and I are alone.

"Remind me to punch her later," Percy mutters. "Grover too."

I laugh. "Come on, Percy. It's just one hour. Am I really that boring?"

Percy blushes.

"Hurry up," I say and start walking. "I want my drink."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was an interesting ride; and by interesting, I mean that I found out Percy can't sing to save humanity.

It takes about five minutes to get to Starbucks. For the first couple of minutes, neither of us speak. It's an awkward silence – no radio, no voices, just the sound of passing cars and wind. The conversation earlier with Thalia and Grover still hangs in the air, the words still echoing in our ears. I find myself blushing every time I think their real motive behind staying at the school.

I know it's because they think we like each other and want us to be alone together. And I know Percy knows this too from the way he blushes when he sneaks his occasional glance my way.

Percy can't like me. Right? Those blushes have to be because he knows his friends wanted us to be alone together. And the way he stood up for me against Peyton was just because we're friends. And me was just because we're friends. And our constant texts are because we want to know more about each other..._because_ we're friends and friends only.

So it's not possible that he likes me.

To take my mind off of Percy, I turn up the radio, where Hunter Hayes' "Wanted" is playing.

"I love this song," I say. I start tapping my fingers to the beat on my leg. I can see Percy grinning out of the corner of my eye.

But all so suddenly, a wave of emotion hits me, knocking the breath out of me. This was the song the he couldn't stand. That he would always turn back down when I turned it up.

"Why doesn't he just make the dang girl feel wanted?" he would complain. "Why go and write and whole song about her and how he loves her? Just tell her!"

"It's not that simple," I would explain. "It kinda freaks a girl out when a guy comes up to her saying, 'Hey, I love you.' He's trying to explain that he loves her in a song since he can't find the words."

"I went up to you and told you I loved you. And here we are."

"That's different."

"How?"

"I could tell that you truly loved me and would never hurt me."

Well, I was wrong about that.

A horrible, screeching noise breaks me out of my trance. I jump and look over at Percy. One arm is on the steering wheel and the other is resting in his lap. His head bobs to the beat, and he's smiling widely. Then I realize that the horrible is coming from _him. _

"I just wanna wrap you up, wanna kiss your lips, I wanna make you feel wanted," he sings. "I wanna call you mine, wanna hold your hand forever, and never let you forget it. Yeah, I wanna make you feel wanted."

I start laughing. True, authentic laughs that I can feel in the pit of my stomach. Percy looks at me bewilderingly. "Stop it!" I say as I strain to catch my breath. "Percy, stop!"

"Why?" Percy asks, an impish grin on his face.

"Your singing is horrendous," I explain to him. "I don't want any windows to crack or people fall down and scream, clutching their ears, so I think you should stop."

"Oh, really?" he asks. "Then you'll really hate this." He turns up the radio until it's blasting and goes from nonchalantly bobbing his head to nearly slamming his forehead on the steering wheel.

"As good as you make me feel, I wanna make you feel better. Better than your fairy tales, better than your best dreams. You're more than everything I need. You're all I ever wanted! You're all I ever wanted!" Percy's voice cracks horribly on the last high notes. I roll my eyes at him and laugh.

Percy's so different from him. If he didn't like a song, he wouldn't listen to it, even if I liked it. But Percy doesn't care. I don't know if he likes this song or not, but it doesn't matter. Even if he doesn't, he's still going to make me laugh. That's one way he's better.

My stomach twists. Did I really just think that? How could I? The boy back in San Francisco, who's name I've forbidden myself from speaking ever again, was everything I've ever wanted. How could I think that I've found someone better?

_He betrayed you, Annabeth_, I tell myself. _He's nothing to you now. You shouldn't feel guilty. _

I shouldn't feel guilty. So I join Percy and sing along with Hunter.

By the end of the song, we've pulled up into Starbucks. We're both laughing, our faces red. "You really shouldn't tell me I can't sing," Percy tells me. "You can't either. I think you killed a few cats."

"Oh please," I shoot back. "I can sing better than you, at least."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Percy acts like he's about to argue some more, but he sighs instead. "It's true," he confirms and I smile smugly.

We both get out of the car and walk into the coffee shop. It's bustling with activity; workers running around, clearing tables and making coffee. People sitting at tables, chatting leisurely with each other. Students ordering their drinks hurriedly in order to get back to school on time. I take a deep breath and breathe in the scent of coffee, which is, in my opinion, the best part of visiting a coffee shop.

"Hi, may I help you?" the guy at the cashier asks us as we get up to order. He's older than both Percy and I, probably in his first or second year of college. He has short, cropped blonde hair and startling blue eyes, which painstakingly reminds me of him. I blink the thought away.

"Yeah, uh, I'd like a double chocolate chip frappuccino," Percy says. "And she'd like..." He trails off, looking at me expectantly. "What do you want?"

"I'll get my drink myself," I say.

"No, no, I'll pay for yours."

"Percy," I say, looking him in the eye, "I'll get my own."

"Annabeth," he says, looking me in the eye this time, "no."

Seeing that he won't take no for an answer, I order. "A vanilla frozen cappuccino, please."

"Okay, is that all for you guys?" the cashier asks. He looks at me and smiles widely. I grin hesitantly back. Is he...flirting with me?

Percy puts his hand on the counter and turns to face me, blocking my view of the cashier. "Should we order one for Thalia and Grover?" he asks. His voice sounds weird. Strained.

"Um, sure. What do they like?" I ask. But Percy's already turned back to the cashier, and ordered a hot chocolate and a caramel ribbon crunch frappuccino.

"Is that all?" the cashier asks. Both Percy and I nod. The guy gives us our total and as Percy gets out his wallet and starts fingering through bills, the cashier turns to me. "My name's Derek," he says quietly.

"Annabeth," I say and shake his outstretched hand.

"So, Annabeth," Derek says conversationally, "you two look like you're still in high school. Shouldn't you be at school?"

I feel Percy go rigid beside me, though I have no idea why. Maybe he doesn't like Derek accusing us of ditching. I glance uneasily at him as I reply, "Um, yeah, we're seniors. This is our free hour."

"Well, you came to the right place," Derek says with a charming grin. I find myself smiling back.

"Here you go," Percy says, handing Derek a wad of bills. Derek moves away from me and accepts the money. After he hands Percy his change, he asks, "And a name for your order?"

"Percy," I answer.

Derek writes it down. "Percy," he says, looking up at him. "Cool name, bro."

"Thanks," Percy says then walks off, without another words.

I watch him go, totally confused. What's up with him? "Thanks," I tell Derek as I start to follow Percy.

"No problem," he replies. "Bye, Annabeth. Nice meeting you."

I smile at him. He's really sweet. "You too. Bye, Derek."

I find Percy at a table for two on the far side of the shop, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed. I take a seat in the chair across from him.

"What was that?" I demand immediately after I sit.

"What was what?" Percy asks. I glare at him.

"Don't play dumb with me. What was up with all the coldness towards Derek?"

"What coldness?"

"Oh, please. You're usually relaxed and friendly, but up there, you were cold and tense."

"Was not."

I give Percy a stern look. "Really. You want to go there?"

Percy rolls his eyes and sighs. "Annabeth, that Derek guy is no good. I can see it. He's probably some player who has a new girlfriend, like, every week. He's probably just like Peyton."

A strange resentment is in his tone. It scares me. "What is wrong with you?" I ask.

"What's wrong with you?" he shoots back defensively.

"Percy, I was just being friendly. What's wrong with that?"

"He was flirting with you! He would've reined you in then dumped you in a flash, leaving you hurt! How can you not see that?"

A strange feeling blooms in my stomach. Happiness and sadness both at once. Percy's describing almost exactly what happened to me – how someone made me fall in love with him only to break my heart later. Yet, something about the way that Percy's so protective of me makes me satisfied. Happy. Content. It drives away the sadness. Almost.

In order to cover up my hurricane of emotions, I say, "It didn't even go that far."

"Oh, just like the situation with Peyton this morning didn't go that far?" Percy accuses.

I take a deep breath. I hate having to trust someone to take care of me. This morning is a perfect example of what I _don't _want happening to me – not just Peyton flirting with me, but Percy having to save me. So what Percy just said hit a nerve in me.

"You're impossible," I mutter, glaring at the table because I don't have the self-control to look him in the eye.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry," Percy apologizes. "I shouldn't have said that or acted like that."

I'm about to reply when Derek's voice calls out, "Percy!"

Percy gets up to get the drinks, but I surprise him by getting up with him. "Stay here," he commands. "I've got the drinks."

I glare at him and say, "No. Let's just grab the drinks and go back to school."

Percy looks like he's trying to cover up his disappointment with a front that shows he doesn't care. "Okay," he says. "Fine."

We get our drinks quickly and walk out the door to Percy's beat-up truck. We get in and Percy starts driving. The silence is even more tangible than the drive here. It's thick and cold and suffocates me. I glance at Percy. He's watching the road with a glare on his face. I study the way his usual playful green eyes are angry and hard. It scares me. Percy Jackson isn't supposed to be mean and cold. Yet somehow, I've brought that part out of him.

Yup. Sounds like me.

I don't even know what happened back there. It would've been normal had he gotten a little annoyed at Derek. But he didn't. He got angry instead. Why would he get angry at another guy for talking to me and then get angry at me for letting him? Unless...

No. Percy and I are just friends. Nothing more. Nothing less. Friends.

Percy glances over at me. Our eyes meet, I realize I've been staring, and quickly look away. But this seems to have struck something in Percy.

"Let's go somewhere else," he says, his tone light and normal, all signs of our fight earlier gone.

I look at him curiously. "And where do you want to go?"

He thinks about it for a minute. "Central Park," he decides on.

"Central Park?" I demand. "Percy, by the time we get there, it'll be time to get back to school. We have, like, twenty minutes until the bell."

"So?" he asks. Then he laughs. "Let's just skip fifth hour!"

I stare at him. His eyes now are wild. "What's gotten into you?" I ask, though I'm trying to hold back laughter too. Skipping fifth hour does sound nice, especially if I'm with Percy.

"I feel like I need to apologize for Starbucks," he explains, suddenly serious.

"And making me ditch school is your way of doing so?"

"What?" Percy asks, like he does it all the time. "It sounds fun."

"Percy, I can't afford to ditch. It'd probably go on my permanent record and it would be harder to get into colleges," I explain.

"Come on, Annabeth," Percy pleads. We're in the school parking lot now, so Percy looks down at me with big, begging green eyes. "Just this once. We won't get caught."

I roll my eyes. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," I mutter. Then I say to Percy, "Fine."

"Yes!" Percy lifts his fists up in the air in victory. He revs up the engine and starts to pull out of the school parking lot.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

By the time we get there, fifth hour has just begun.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask Percy. He's walking next to me, his hands in his pockets. A couple runners jog past us and Percy takes a hand out of his pocket to wave. I unwillingly take note of how my old boyfriend didn't do this. Yet another thing that they don't have in common.

"Are you not enjoying the fresh air?" he asks jokingly. He looks down at me, his eyes playful.

I look away. "Stop answering my questions with questions."

Percy laughs. "Yes ma'am," he answers. "And in response to your question, yes, I'm sure about this. It's just one class."

"Yeah," I mutter bitterly. "One class that your stepfather teaches."

Percy grimaces. "Yeah. Minor detail. But I'm sure it'll be fine. Probably."

I laugh against my will. "Yeah. Probably."

We walk in silence until we get to a bridge. I stop an look at the river we're crossing over. "This is a pretty view," I say, partly to myself, as I walk over to the edge and lean over the side. Percy joins me.

"Looks like a regular river to me," he says, uninterested. I roll my eyes.

"Well, yeah, but if you really look, regular rivers can be beautiful," I explain. Before I can stop myself, I start lecturing, "I don't think people really notice beauty in plain daylight. Like this river. Everyone talks about it being beautiful at sunrise or sunset, but if you take the time to study it during the day, you'd see the way the sun makes it sparkle. You'd see the reflections of all these trees and how, on the water, it makes it look like a mirage. And there's life in it. It's like it's a whole other world, one full of fish instead of humans. But the sound of it is probably my favorite part. It's always rushing, always moving and splashing. That sound will always be there, no matter what. It's never going to leave or abandon us."

I wonder if Percy noticed how I talked about the sound of rivers with envy in my voice. I hope not.

"Sorry," I say sheepishly. "Sometimes I get carried away. You probably don't want to listen to me talk about the wonders of the universe, huh?"

Percy grins at me, but not before I catch his expression before. His lips are in a tight line and his nose is scrunched up, almost like he's mad. But his green eyes are soft, like the sea on a calm day. The sight of that look makes my stomach flip.

"No, no," he says. "I think it's cool. Not enough girls talk like that, you know? It's nice to know that there are some girls out there who care about something other than their looks or social status."

Before I can stop myself, I say, "There are actually lots of girls out there who talk like that. Guys just don't look hard enough."

Percy gives me a weird look and I immediately blush down to my neck. I turn away to look back at the river. I can still feel Percy's stare boring into my back.

He probably hates me. After all, I did just diss the entire male population. What guy wouldn't hate a girl who did that, or at the very least, not want to hang out with them anymore?

Wait. Why do I care so much? I was just stating a fact. It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

I blink to bring myself back to reality. I look to my right, where there are many runners and parents with kids. I see one lady with dark hair and reading glasses sitting on a bench. A big stack of papers are on her lap, a pen in her hand. She has a sack lunch next to her.

I take in a sharp breath.

"What?" Percy asks, looking at me, concern in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Dang it," I mutter. "That's my mom."

"Where?" Percy looks around wildly. "The one with the two kids?"

I shake my head. "No. The one on the bench."

Now it's Percy's turn to gasp. "Wait a sec. _That's_ your mom?"

For a second, I forget my panic and look at Percy in surprise. "Yes. Do you know her?"

Percy shakes his head. A small smile is playing on his lips. "Not personally, no. But my dad knows her. Actually, he hates her."

"What? Why?"

"Well, from what I've been told, my dad and your mom applied for the same job at some college. When asked to do some presentation or whatever for the job, my dad went crazy. He was up late at night doing research and other things, or so I've been told. This was before I was born. When the day came to present, your mom killed my dad with her presentation. She got the job, he didn't."

"Oh," is all I can say. I think back to my first day of school, when my mom asked me if I had made any new friends. I remember the way she was tense while I named off people, then relaxed when I was done. Could she possibly be worried that I had made friends with Percy? I start laughing.

"What?" Percy demands, looking at me imploringly. "Why are you laughing?"

"My mom is the dean of a college I can't for the life of me remember the name of," I say, still chuckling. "Your dad applied for that job?"

"Why is that so surprising?" Percy asks, still confused.

"It's just, if your head's full of seaweed, you had to get it from someone."

"Hey!" Percy says defensively, although I can tell he's fighting back a smile. Then he frowns. "Seaweed?"

I shrug. "It was the first thing I thought of." Then I grin. "Seaweed Brain."

Percy laughs. "Okay, then, Wise Girl."

I mimic Percy and frown. "Wise Girl?"

"I don't have a lot of ammunition here."

I laugh, then glance back at my mom. "We have a bigger problem here to worry about than ammunition for nicknames. What are we gonna do about my mom? If she sees me, she'll freak."

Percy thinks for a moment. I run my hand through my hair, what I do when I get frustrated. I glare at the water running below us.

"Why don't we just walk right past her?" Percy finally decides. "If we get caught, we get caught. There's no avoiding it. And have to get to the car now if we want to make it to lunch."

I purse my lips and try to think of a way to avoid going through with Percy's idea. But in the end, I come up with nothing. "Fine," I say. "Let's go."

I start walking, Percy following closely behind. Thankfully, my mom has her eyes downcast as she looks through her papers, so she doesn't notice us. I keep walking, my body rigid, as I pray that my mom doesn't notice me or Percy. Fortunately, she doesn't.

But I should know better than to think that I might get lucky.

When we're about ten feet away, Percy whoops in victory. And that whoop makes my mom turn her head our way. I turn around quickly.

"Oops," Percy says.

"Run," I say in reply. And we both take off.

By the time we both get to the car, we're laughing.

"I beat you," Percy teases.

"It wasn't even a race, Seaweed Brain," I point out, liking the way the nickname rolls off my tongue.

"Sorry I got you in trouble," he apologizes.

"It's fine," I say. "At least it wasn't our principal or anything. The worst that my mom's gonna do to me is ground me."

"True," Percy says and we both climb into the truck.

This time, I don't waste any time turning up the radio. The country station is on, so I keep it there. I realize my mistake only when we're halfway back to the school and "Wanted" comes back on.

"Yeah!" Percy exclaims and moves to turn it up.

I groan. "Not again," I mutter to myself and quickly beat his hand to the stereo and turn the station. Paramore's "The Only Exception" is on, which isn't that bad a song, so I keep it on.

"Hm," Percy says. "Never heard this song."

While the song plays, I notice something weird. Every few seconds or so, Percy glances my way. His eyebrows are scrunched together, like he's realizing something.

I wonder what.

We pull into the school right as the song ends. Percy pulls the key out of the ignition and I move to get out, but Percy grabs my arm. "I'm really sorry for today. With Peyton and at Starbucks. I know you were just being friendly with Derek. I don't know what came over me."

The way he says that last part gives me a feeling that he does, and he doesn't like it.

"And you can handle yourself with Peyton. Again, I don't know what came over me. So I really am sorry."

I smile at him. "Thanks. And really, I wasn't annoyed that you stood up for me and tried to keep me from Derek. It was actually kinda sweet."

Once the words are out of my mouth, I realize what I've said and blush. I notice Percy blushing too.

"Come on," I say quickly. "Let's hurry and get inside."

The cafeteria is as loud as ever. When we walk in though, the air changes. Percy and I both make our way to our seats, and everywhere I look, there's someone looking at me with some emotion in their eyes. When I walk past Rachel in the lunch line, I see smugness. A kid from my calculus class, I see awe. Drew and her buddies, envy. Peyton, jealousy.

"Annabeth?" Percy voice brings me out of my trance. "Do you want to sit with me?"

I open my mouth to say yes, but then I remember Silena and my other friends. I glance back at our table. Silena's watching me intently and she nods at me when I look at her, like she knows what Percy's asked.

"They can come too," he adds before I can say anything.

So five minutes later I find myself sitting between Piper McLean, one of Percy's friends and Silena, who won't stop poking me in the side whenever Percy merely glances at me.

"So," Silena whispers to me, "tell me everything. I can't believe you ditched. That's totally un-Annabeth-like. What's gotten into you?"

I glance at Percy, who's sitting across the table and a few seats down from me. He catches me glance and smiles. "I'd rather not say," I tell Silena.

"No," Silena drawls, looking at me, her mouth slightly ajar. "Percy persuaded you, didn't he?"

I groan. Silena's a nice girl and an amazing friend – when she isn't talking about boys. "Silena, I-"

I'm interrupted my a voice that crackles over the intercom, saying, "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, please report to Mr. Brunner's office please." She repeats that one more time before the intercom clicks off.

The whole cafeteria is silent for a few seconds. I can feel everyone's eyes on me and Percy. I look at him, my eyes wide. Percy just shrugs. Mr. Brunner is our principal and if we're being called to the principal's office, that can only mean one thing.

The lunch room chatter starts up again once Percy and I stand up. I throw away the half sandwich Silena gave me so I wouldn't have to wait in the lunch line, then walk out the door.

"We got caught," I state once Percy and I are both in the hallway. "Great."

"Relax, Annabeth," Percy reassures me. "The last time someone ditched, they ditched the whole day and only got two weeks of morning detention. We only ditched one hour. What's the worst that could happen?"

I'm silent. He has a point. But that doesn't stop the uneasy feeling growing in my stomach.

We don't have to wait long to see our principal. It seems like Mr. Brunner's been waiting for us.

"Hello, Percy. Hello, Annabeth," Mr. Brunner greets us when we walk in.

Mr. Brunner is a middle-aged man who has the most peculiar eyes. He can't be older than fifty, but his eyes look like they're thousands of years old and have seen everything. He's in a wheelchair, and no one knows what happened to make him handicapped. I suspect it was something traumatic that caused him to have such sad, peculiar eyes.

I sit in one of the leather seats opposite of the principal. Percy sits in the matching one next to mine. I take a deep breath. "Hi, Mr. Brunner."

"Well, I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, but I'm afraid the circumstances that brought you here are not all that pleasant," he points out.

I shift in my seat and do not meet his gaze.

"So, Ms. Chase, I've been told that you and Mr. Jackson did not make it to fifth hour," Mr. Brunner starts. "Is that correct?"

I twist my hands nervously. "Yes," Percy and I answer at the same time.

"Care to explain where you two were?"

Percy and I are both silent. I look down at my hands, which are now playing nervously with the hem of my shirt. _Mom's gonna kill me_, I think.

"Well?" Mr. Brunner prompts.

I open my mouth to answer, but Percy beats me to it. "It's my fault. We were going to Starbucks for free period and I convinced Annabeth to ditch fifth hour with me. It's completely my fault and I'm sorry."

I openly gape at him until I remember that Mr. Brunner is in here as well. I turn my shocked expression down to my lap. Percy just took the entire blame from both of us to just him. A warm feeling erupts in my stomach. He just...took the blame for our actions. I have to keep myself from grinning.

"Is this true, Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner asks.

I look at him and nod.

"Well, even though it was _entirely_ your fault," the principal teases Percy, "Annabeth still went along with it, so I must punish you both. Morning detention for the rest of the week. Be here tomorrow morning at seven a.m."

"Yes, sir," Percy and I say in unison, yet again.

Mr. Brunner looks at his watch. "Well, it looks like lunch just ended a few minutes ago, so you can go to your next class." He fills out tardy slips with our excuses on them and lets us go.

It's not until we're safely out of the office do I start giggling like a lunatic. Hysteria bubbles up in me and I laugh and laugh and laugh until I've calmed down enough to speak.

"Thank you," I say. "For taking the blame and all."

Percy shrugs. "Hey, it was my fault." He lowers his voice and says, "Although it was fun, right?"

I grin. "You're such a seaweed brain."

"And you're such a wise girl," he shoots back.

"Seaweed Brain."

"Wise Girl."

The bell brings us out of our name-calling war. "See you in gym?" Percy asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "See you."

It's in architecture when I figure it out. I figure out why I feel so weird when Percy laughs or says something sweet. Why I felt so good when Percy got protective of me. Why everything sharpened when he held my hand earlier. I've felt this feeling before. This feeling makes me want to throw up, because it means trouble. This feeling makes me want to laugh, because it feels so good at the same time.

I have a crush on Percy Jackson.

**Aw! Annabeth likes Percy! And they finally have nicknames! Yeah! Percabeth forever!**

**Okay, so fangirl time. I was rereading the MOA a while ago actually and I saw this:**

**"'An oath to keep with a final breath,' Annabeth continued. 'And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.'"**

**A****nother paragraph that doesn't matter and that I don't feel like typing out.**

**"Annabeth wasn't sure why she had blurted out the lines of the prophecy. She'd just felt compelled."**

**What if that means that part of the prophecy revolves around her? Percy did promise that he would stay with her at the end of the book, when...you know...*sob***

**Anyway, review! My goal is to get to a 110! Let's do it, okay? **

**Bye!**

**"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:18,19**


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